The theremin is probably best known for the spooky sounds in many 1950s science fiction movies (heard a *lot* in Mystery Science Theater 3000 features), and in the Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations." (Chris says it's used quite a bit in the film _Forbidden Planet_.) Shortly after I saw the Clara Rockmore video I found a CD by her called "The Art of the Theremin" and bought it immediately. The booklet included is a very good one, and includes lots of information and photos of the theremin, Clara Rockmore, and Professor Theremin. I've typed in quite a bit of it, but I did have to edit it here and there. For one thing, I left out and entire section on exactly *how* the theremin works. If you'd like to know...if you're *that* interested, I'd recommend buying the CD :-). Still, this is pretty long. It's kind of dry, but I think it's fascinating information. The theremin itself is interesting, and Clara's mastery of it is nothing short of amazing. She single-handedly brought respect to an instrument that has been used in some fairly dubious ways. Professor Theremin was the father of electronic instruments, so he's interesting *and* important! (Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin wrote a song about him. It appears on the album "Spin" and you'll hear the instrument in the song.) Enjoy! (I hope...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The theremin itself is housed in a wooden cabinet approximately eighteen inches wide and a foot deep. With its legs, it stands about three and a half feet high. The front is slanted to form a convenient music stand. A vertical pitch antenna rod is located in the upper right hand corner of the cabinet. A tubular loop for controlling volume emerges from the cabinet's left hand side. Tuning knobs and control switches are located on the lower part of the front of the cabinet. | (pitch) | | | ___________|_ ____ | | (volume) (____)---| (slanted) | | | |------------| | ooo (knobs)| |____________| To play the theremin, the performer stands in front of the instrument, a little left of center. The feet are spread slightly to keep the body as motionless as possible. To determine the pitch of the instrument's tone, the player varies the distance between her right hand and the pitch antenna. When the instrument is properly tuned, the pitch goes from lower than two octaves below middle C when the player's right hand is back at her shoulder, to approximately 2 1/2 octaves above middle C when the player's hand barely touches the pitch antenna. To determine the loudness of the instrument's tone, the player varies the distance between her left hand and the middle of the volume antenna. Maximum loudness occurs when the hand is removed from the antenna; complete silence occurs when the hand is an inch or so from the loop. The two antennas actually respond to all body movements. Therefore, it is necessary for the player to exert firm control over her body and head motions as well as her hand motions. The ability to stand motionless is absolutely essential. Concert-goers have remarked on Ms. Rockmore's controlled stance. One reviewer even wrote: "Miss Rockmore's seance-like management of this slightly supernatural instrument is quite amazing. Of course, the purpose of remaining still is not theatrical or hypnotic at all, but strictly musical." The thereminist must move her hands with incredible precision as well as speed if she wishes to play distinct notes with corrent intonation. Ms. Rockmore actually uses fingering patterns to play the most rapid passages. (...) No other theremin player has ever mastered this difficult and intricate technique for playing rapid successions of precise pitches - "aerial fingering" as one reviewer termed it. The theremin performer plays without the benefit of any tactile reference whatever. Unlike the violinist, who is in constant contact with the instrument's fingerboard, (...) the thereminist feels no shape or force as she moves from one pitch to another. She is constantly moving her hands, listening to the resulting pitch changes, then "trimming" the precise position of her hands to home in on the desired pitch and volume. The process is one of continous aural feedback. For this reason, placement of the theremin loudspeaker is extremely important. Ms. Rockmore uses a large open-backed speaker which she places behind and slightly above her head, pointing out toward her audience. With such an arrangement, she is able to hear the effect of her hand motions soon enough so that her audience is rarely, if ever, aware of the aural feedback corrections that she intuitively applies. In 1927, two remarkable people arrived in the United States after lengthy and successful tours of Europe: Lev Sergeivitch Termen (anglicized to Leon Theremin) and Clara Reisenberg Rockmore. Theremin was a young Russian physicist who was demonstrating a new musical instrument that he invented (...the aetherphon, aka thereminvox, later known as the theremin). Clara Rockmore, a professional violinist from the age of 9, became aware of the musical potential of Theremin's invention. She spent several years collaborating with Theremin during which time he developed his invention into a sensitive, wide-range musical instrument. Clara subsequently embarked on a performance career that encompassed well over a hundred concerts, including appearances with major symphony orchestras, and set the definitive standard for theremin performance technique. Clara Reisenberg was born in Russia, the youngest of three musically gifted sisters. (...) Clara was a true child prodigy, with absolute pitch and an uncanny sense of music. At the age of two, she could pick out on the piano or sing any melody she heard. (...) Her career as a violinist began when her uncle gave her a quarter-size violin for her fourth birthday. At the age of 5 she was admitted as an exceptional student to the Imperial Conservatory of Music in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad). She was the youngest student ever to have received this honor. Later she became one of Professor Leopold Auer's most prom- ising pupils and, at the age of nine, received permission from the Russian government to leave her native land in order to concertize. Clara and her sister Nadia (a well-known concert pianist in her own right) embarked on an extensive tour of Europe. (...) Finally, their recital circuit led them to New York City, where Clara met Leon Theremin for the first time. Leon Theremin developed his aetherphon in Russia while he was a student at the University of Petrograd. In 1920, he demostrated a working instrument at a convention of engineers and psysicists. At that time, the vacuum tube had been in existence for only a few years; Theremin himself was only 21 years old. During the following years Theremin imporved his instrument and staged a number of concert demonstrations. The first composer to use this new instrument was A. F. Paschtschenko. His composition, "A Symphonic Mystery" for theremin and orchestra, was premiered in May, 1924 by the Leningrad Philharmonic. In 1927, Theremin embarked on a European tour. His performances in Frankfurt, Berlin, London, and Paris were met with unrestrained enthusiasm. Listeners were amazed that the seemingly inaccessible technology of electronics had been harnessed to enable a musician to make music by simply waving his hands. At the Paris Opera, police were called to keep order among the crowds that thronged Theremin's concert-demonstration. For the first time in history, standing room was sold in the boxes. By the time Theremin arrived in New York in Decemberr 1927, news of his fame had reached the rich and fashionable. His first "by invitation only" presentation included such notables as Edsel Ford, the Vincent Astors, the Fritz Kreislers, Rachmaninoff, and Toscanini. (...) Theremin set up a laboratory and studio...to build new instruments and train performers. He and his new students joined the New York Philharmonic Sympohony Orchestra on August 27, 1928, for a concert performance with four theremins and orchestra. (...) On September, 1929, Theremin licensed the Radio Corporation of America to manufacture the thereminvox. (...) The RCA Theremin was not a commer- cial success. (...) (...) ...Theremin trained many musicians to perform slow simple music on his instruments. However, the development of technique to perform pieces from the standard instrumental repertoire would require the dedication and effort of an unusually sensitive and talented performer. Clara Rockmore was this person. Clara worked intensively with Theremin's instruments, developing means for greater control and more precise articulation. At one of Theremin's concerts in 1932, Clara performed on an experimental dance plarform called the terpsitone. The platform was equipped with thereminvox-like antennas, enabling the dancer to play a melody while dancing - the perfect synchronization of sound and motion. Clara recalls that Prof. Theremin asked her to perform on the platform, "because none of the dancers who tried it could carry a tune." Ms. Rockmore gave her first solo theremin concert and New York's Town Hall, on October 30, 1934. (...) During the twenty years or so following her theremin debut, Clara Rockmore toured widely, performing as guest soloist with major symphony orchestras, and made three coast-to-coast tours, sharing the program with the famous singer Paul Robeson. On several occasions she performed under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, one of her most enthusiastic supporters. (...) During the past few years, Ms. Rockmore has retired from active concertizing. Her appearances have been limited to a few radio interviews and private recitals. However, Clara maintains her enthusiasm for the theremin, and her masterful playing. She frequently points out that today's "space-concious" listeners are interested in electronic music, "and what is more natural to electronic music than a space-controlled instrument?" She hopes that this disc, the first commerical recording of her playing, will acquaint today's listeners with the musical resources of the theremin, and with her own approach to the theremin as a musician interested in making music rather thatn just new sound effects. (...) Theremin remained in the United States for about ten years. During his stay he developed several musical instruments based on the beat frequency oscillator principle. (...) He also experimented with visual displays, including rotating discs illuminated with stroboscopic lights. Theremin's experiments laid much of the groundwork for subsequent developments which led to many of the electronic musical instruments which are in use today. Unfortunately, the economic climate of the 1930's was not conducive to commercially profitable introduction of new musical instruments. Theremin returned to his native Russia around 1938. He continues to do research in electronic musical instruments and acoustics at the University of Moscow. Robert Moog ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Clara Rockmore The Art of the Theremin (Delos D/CD 1014) Clara Rockmore, theremin Nadia Reisenberg, piano 1) Rachmaninoff: Vocalise 2) Song of Grusia 3) Saint-Saens: The Swan 4) De Falla: Pantomime 5) Achron: Hebrew Melody 6) Wieniawski: Romance 7) Stravinsky: Berceuse 8) Ravel: Piece en forme de Habanera 9) Tchaikovsky: Berceuse 10) Tchaikovsky: Valse sentimentale 11) Tchaikovsky: Serenade melancolique 12) Glazunov: Chant du menestrel 1987 Delos International, Inc. 2210 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 664, Santa Monica, CA 90403 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm not absolutely sure, but I think that Clara Rockmore and Prof. Theremin are both dead now. Nadia Reisenberg definitely is. Vickie -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Vickie Mapes irc ---> #ecto "My ears are lucky to hear vickie@pilot.njin.net alt.music.ecto these glorious songs" HR _________ "Imagination sets in, then |_ _ | _ The Happy Rhodes mailing list all the voices begin" KB |__|_ ||_| ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Searching for Happy Rhodes reviews, articles, interviews, mentions -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-