Quick Facts
Biography
Guerino Mazzola (born 1947) is a Swiss mathematician, musicologist, jazz pianist as well as book writer.
He graduated at the University of Zürich in Mathematics, Theoretical Physics and Crystallography and completed his PhD in Mathematics in 1971. In 1980, he habilitated in Algebraic Geometry and Representation Theory. In 2000, he was awarded the medal of the Mexican Mathematical Society. In 2003, he habilitated in Computational Science at the University of Zürich.
Mazzola has recorded several Free Jazz CDs with musicians like Mat Maneri, Heinz Geisser, Sirone, Jeff Kaiser, Scott Fields, Matt Turner and Rob Brown.
Mazzola is well known for his application of sophisticated mathematical concepts such as topos theory to music theory, described in his book The Topos of Music. The result has been somewhat controversial, drawing praise from some mathematicians and music theorists (among others: Alexander Grothendieck (Das ist wohl schon die Mathematik des neuen Zeitalters, This is probably already the mathematics of the new age), Yuri Manin, Yves André, François Nicolas, Thomas Noll), and dissent from others (among others: Dmitri Tymoczko (If you can't learn algebraic geometry, he sometimes seems to be saying, then you have no business trying to understand Mozart.)).
Currently he is Professor at the School of Music at the University of Minnesota. Since 2007 he is the president of the Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music.
Discography
- Mazzola/Piano Solo Kelvin Null OMP Records 1001 LP
- Mazzola/Piano Solo Akroasis Wergo SM 1024 LP
- Mazzola/Moor/Sollberger Aus dem Hinterhalt OMP Records 1002 LP
- Q4 Orchestra Lyons' Brood Creative Works CW 1018 CD
- Guerino Mazzola Synthesis SToA music ST-71.1001 CD
- Jan Beran Immaculate Concept SToA music ST-71.1002 CD
- Q4 Orchestra Yavapai Creative Works CW 1028 CD
- Rissi-Mazzola-Geisser Fuego Creative Works CW 1029 CD
- Brown-Mazzola-Geisser Orbit Music & Arts CD-1015 CD
- Mazzola-Geisser Toni's Delight Cadence Jazz Records 1090 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Fields/Turner Maze Quixotic Records 5002 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser /Fields/Maneri Heliopolis Cadence Jazz Records 1122 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser Folia Silkheart, Silkheart Records SHCD 153 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Rissi Tierra Cadence Jazz Records 1130 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Rissi Agua Cadence Jazz Records, 1150 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser Someday Silkheart Records 154 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Fields/Maneri Chronotomy BlackSaint 120173-2 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Kato/Saga Live at Airegin Ayler Records aylDL-056 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Rissi Herakleitos Ayler Records aylDL-069 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Rissi Aire Cadence Jazz Records 1130 CD
- Mazzola/Geisser/Kaiser/Sirone Liquid Bridges CD in Springer book Flow, Gesture, and Spaces
- Mazzola/Geisser/Onuma Dancing the Body of Time Cadence Jazz Records 1239 CD
- Mazzola/Park Passionate Message, Silkheart Records 159 CD