The world of numbers

Press, 28 June 1983, Page 19

The world of numbers

“Numbers: Their History and Meaning,” reviewed in “8.8. C. World of Books” on the Concert programme at 7 p.m. today, describes the different methods of counting through the centuries, the meanings we giYe to numbers and many ways devised to facilitate their use. It is written by Graham Flegg, a mathematician who believes the subject to be both a science and an art, as he explains on the programme. The story of two brothers, Joshua and Isaac Bashevis Singer, their relationship

with their parents, with their Polish homeland and the holocaust of World War II is chronicled in a book called “The Brothers Singer” by Clive Sinclair, himself a young prize-win-ning Jewish novelist. The author discusses the heavy influence the Singers’ parents had had on their writing. The book programme ends with a roundup by Edward Blishen of the latest paperback releases. It will be followed at 8 p.m. by “Discovering Music.” In this series the

pianist, composer and lecturer Antony Hopkins discusses works from the standard classical repertoire, and tonight he looks at Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote Op. 35. Described by the composer as “Fantastic variations on a theme of knightly character,” it is based on the characters and incidents in the classic story by Cervantes. At 8.27 p.m. there will be a recording of the work by the Berlin Philharmonic with Ulrich Koch (viola) and conducted by Herbert von Karajan.