Among the musicians, there are many people with scientific interests, and one world star is able to attract even those who would not think of participating in the Starmus Festival. According to French synthesizer wizard Jean-Michel Jarre, music is the soul of mathematics. Today, at 75 years old, he remains the most famous French musician. A true innovator and visionary who always felt one foot in the future, he enthusiastically experimented with electronic music and set records with his massive open-air concerts: he played to 2.5 million people in Paris, and 3.5 million in Moscow. At a press conference held Thursday in Bratislava, he personally announced that he would open the Starmus Festival with a free concert on May 12, on the banks of the Danube. The “UFO Bridge” will also be an important part of the visuals, and Brian May will play guitar as a guest. The Queen founding member can be asked via video, which we did – but more on that later.
The Science Popularization Festival was founded by Garik Israelyan, an Armenian astrophysicist who in 1999 provided the first observational evidence that supernova explosions are responsible for the formation of stellar-mass black holes. He dreamed of an event where scholars and artists could share the fruits of their labor with the general public in an understandable way. He wanted to dispel the misconception that scientific topics are incomprehensible to ordinary people. Moreover, according to him, communicating science is as important as its development.
The other founder of Starmus is Brian May. Among rock stars, he is probably the only astrophysicist with a Ph.D. He also participated in many scientific works, including, for example, the creation of NASA's New Horizons probe to Pluto. He also used his knowledge to spread knowledge: he wrote a book with two famous British astronomers about the Big Bang and the evolution of the universe.
The two founders respectively won big heads from the cause, including Stephen Hawking. Large companies and financial institutions intervened to finance the festivals. It is always organized in different countries, the last event was held in Yerevan in 2022, the main theme at that time was the 50th anniversary of the first Mars expedition, and the most visited Starmos to date happened in Norway.
Bratislava hosts the seventh festival of its kind in a row, as the first location in Eastern Europe – this initiative is supported by ESET, a software company specializing in cybersecurity. May 12-17 between are welcome to Tipos Arena. This year, instead of distant celestial bodies, the focus is on our planet and the problems affecting Earth. Participants in the roundtable discussions include eight Nobel Prize-winning scientists, but the most famous guest will be ethicist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, a researcher into the social lives of chimpanzees, who turned 90 a few days ago.
The festival's other international star is an American molecular biologist also known to rockers: Dexter Holland, frontman of the band Offspring. He is called as both a scientist and a musician, and he does both. The Offspring are said to be gearing up for something in Bratislava that they've never done before – we're curious to see what that will be like, because they've been doing the same thing for thirty years.
On the other hand, it can be said about Laurie Anderson that she rarely does the same thing twice, as all of her previous projects were surprises. The grand dame of experimental music from New York will also be present at Starmus Festival.
Tony Hadley's name may not mean much to us, but if we add that he was the singer of the Spandau Ballet, tango might really fall flat. British band New Romantic were so popular in the 1980s that they performed at Live Aid.
Finally, Brian May's Q&A. In the song Queen '39, born 1975, love and astrophysics come together. According to the story, astronauts venture into the unknown and experience time dilation – that is, during what seems like a short trip on Earth, a hundred years have passed, and by the time they return, everyone they loved is already dead. They set out to find a more suitable place to live instead of the inhabited and disemboweled land. Although this is only half a sentence in the song, it is clear that the author, Brian May, was already concerned about the fate of our planet when he was in his twenties. We were wondering if he thought the context of the song had changed over the decades.
“It's a story-telling song, and the main character isn't necessarily me, but the truth is that the person is worried that we've completely exhausted the Earth's energy resources, so it's time to move to another planet. I'm amazed at how many English folk stories are about explorers, but… Ahad writes the same basic situation with the astronauts. I was also excited about the story because I knew that when you reach the speed of light the coordinates of time change, and the main character who returns after a year can no longer see his love, but can recognize it in her grandson. For me, this was A very interesting topic, especially from the point of view of the family unit, which is the basis of human development, as descendants inherit and carry the characteristics of their ancestors. We may consider this to be science fiction, but it may actually happen. After all, we see how much science fiction authors have written in That time has already happened. Recently, for example, science fiction ideas about artificial intelligence have become a reality. This song was written in a folk style and it is interesting to think that at some point in the future someone will play it to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar, because the content becomes relevant, and humanity must find a new place to live. I really hope we don't ruin it again!”
