A recent study by Linus Chen-Plotkin, an 18-year-old student from the United States, suggests that the melodies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are more surprising in their development compared to those of his contemporaries and later composers like Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. Chen-Plotkin analyzed 600 movements from piano sonatas and string quartets by these four composers using custom software built on mathematical models such as Markov chains. His findings indicate that Mozart’s melodies have a shorter "memory," meaning they are less predictable in their progression. This suggests that Mozart created musical patterns that set up expectations only to defy them, rather than confirming them. Chen-Plotkin is cautious about the implications of his research, acknowledging both its potential and its limitations. His statistical results align with long-held views among musicologists that Mozart’s music is unique in its movement from note to note and phrase to phrase. However, he notes that his analysis focused on the smaller scale of individual melodies, not the unpredictability of entire compositions. If he had studied whole pieces, he might have found different patterns. He is not advocating for mathematics to replace traditional musicology, but rather showing how statistical tools can help uncover the patterns behind human creativity. Chen-Plotkin’s work is just beginning, and he has already started applying similar computational methods to analyze the works and words of Geoffrey Chaucer, a 14th-century English poet and author. Meanwhile, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 80th anniversary this week. The orchestra has a rich history that includes some of the most thrilling performances of Jean Sibelius’s music ever recorded in the 1950s and 60s. Its founder, Thomas Beecham, maintained an all-male orchestra as long as he was conducting, and the first female musician, clarinetist Prudence Whittaker, joined only a decade after his death in 1961. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has also been involved in a wide range of musical projects, from the whimsical "Hooked on Classics" series in the 1980s to the Champions League theme in the 1990s and the 2020s coronation of King Charles. This summer, the orchestra performed with Mandle Cheung, who paid an undisclosed sum to conduct Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. Despite navigating financial challenges over the years, the orchestra has managed to balance artistic excellence with a variety of performances, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Under the leadership of music director Vasily Petrenko since 2021, there is hope that the orchestra will continue to focus on the sublime aspects of music.