Pythagoras

A podcast opera about the love for critical thought

Ruben Naeff and Joep Stapel

Pythagoras is an intimate podcast opera, singing the incredible story of his life, involving math, music, mysticism, love, cult and politics – and in the end everyone dies.

About the authors

Praised as “quick, quirky, and rambunctious,” Ruben Naeff is a Dutch composer living in Brooklyn, New York. His varied background in mathematics and music led to surprising collaborations, such as De Bètacanon, a musical canon about science, written for national newspaper De Volkskrant. Ruben studied with Michael Gordon and Daan Manneke, and holds degrees in math and music from NYU and the University of Amsterdam. His music has been performed across the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. rubennaeff.com

Joep Stapel is a Dutch writer and music journalist. He is a classical and new music critic for national newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He has published a novel (Kaf, Meulenhoff 2019), stories, poetry, and essays. He is also active as a translator of poetry from Italian and English, in collaboration with Jur Koksma. Their anthology of Brooklyn poet Delmore Schwartz was published November 2020. joepstapel.nl