MUSIC, science and literature are set to come together for Oxford's newest festival.

Oxford May Music will be a six-day festival of concerts and lectures, running from Wednesday, April 30, to Bank Holiday Monday, May 5.

It is the brainchild of violinist Jack Liebeck and Oxford University's professor of experimental physics, Brian Foster, who have been on a world tour of lecture recitals about Einstein's scientific innovations and their musical context.

Mr Liebeck said: "There are obviously clear links between playing musical instruments and mathematics and the mental pathways you use in order to do those things.

"Physicians, mathematicians, and musicians are all interested in each other's fields and it is very interesting to explore these links."

The festival opens at the Holywell Music Room, in Holywell Street, at 8pm on April 30 with a solo recital by pianist Piers Lane and ends with a classical music concert at the same venue on May 5.

The musical programme continues with performances of music spanning more than 300 years, including concerts by cellist Adrian Brendel, the Fibonacci Sequence and the Elias String Quartet.

Side by side with the concerts will be a range of lectures covering subjects from Einstein to musical instrument making and the city's famously cosmopolitan Cowley Road - given by Isolarion author and East Oxford resident James Attlee.

Mr Liebeck said: "Oxford is such an incredibly rich place in terms of its culture and knowledge, so it's brilliant to bring some of that together."

A festival pass for all the events costs £70, while £39 will buy you entry to three concerts and three lectures.

It is also possible to pay for each event individually, with concerts, at the Holywell Music Room, or the Sheldonian Theatre, in Broad Street, costing £17 and lectures £2.50.