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SEE AND HEAR ME PLAY THE THEREMIN
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Here's my most recent theremin CD
This CD has an optional, companion CD called
THE EMPTY JEWEL BOX
specially created for theremin players.
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Are you interested in learning to play the theremin?
CHECK OUT MY DVD
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The photo above shows a couple of the vintage theremins that I play on my theremin CD
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If you would like to hear some theremin music and you can download and play mp3 files, here is a selection of theremin recordings you can listen to. If you enjoy them, check back here regularly because I am constantly adding to the list of mp3 files.
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Combining the sound of the theremin with rare or exotic acoustic instruments can produce some interesting results. Here is a marriage between the theremin (a Moog Etherwave Pro) and an ancient Chinese instrument of the zither family called the “gu-zheng”.
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The kanun is the psaltery of the Middle East (and also a member of the zither family of instruments). On this page you will find some pictures of my kanun, as well as a short improvisation for kanun and theremin.
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The large standing cabinet model theremin on which I am resting my right hand in the photo at the top of this page, is the 1929 RCA theremin that was once the property of the late “Hollywood thereminist”, Dr. Samuel Hoffman. This particular instrument is possibly the most recognizable and most sonically identifiable of any musical instrument ever made. If you have ever watched late night re-runs of old science fiction films, horror or suspense thrillers and have heard the eerie, “spooky” sounds of a strange electronic device, the chances are it was Dr. Hoffman playing the theremin shown in the photo above.
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The second theremin in the photo above - the one with the art deco, “Flash Gordon” antennas, once belonged to Julius Goldberg, who was the assistant to the inventor of the theremin, Leon Theremin. Not too much is known about Julius Goldberg but I have put together a brief biography along with the colorful provenance, some photos, and an mp3 of the instrument he once played.
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I recently acquired a Big Briar (now Moog Music) Series 91A theremin. Here it is if you would like to have a look at it and hear what it sounds like.
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When I got my Moog Music Etherwave Pro theremin in the spring of 2005, I immediately set to work customizing it and giving it a whole new look. If you would like to see it and hear it - here it is.
Visit The Etherwave Pro Theremin
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I have an archive of thousands of photos of myself taken all over the world over the last several decades. I chose just a few of them for fun and posted them to this page.
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While Dr. Hoffman may have been the most celebrated and most successful thereminist of the 20th century, the most alluring and most exquisitely musical was probably Clara Rockmore. From infancy, Clara Rockmore was not only brilliantly talented but, as you can readily see from her photos, quite captivating as well. She had the good fortune to have been born Clara Reisenberg, sister to the late, great pianist Nadia Reisenberg who often accompanied her younger sister Clara for both concerts and recordings. Probably Nadia Reisenberg's greatest contribution to music in the 20th century was made as teacher to some of the greatest classical piano virtuosos of her time. Clara Rockmore said of herself and her sister Nadia, “We were like one soul, one body and one set of ears.” In the link that follows, you will find photos that are seen here for the first time. It was Clara Rockmore's wish that this material be freely given to all those who are interested in the instrument to which she gave her life.
A Short Photo-biography of Clara Rockmore
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Here are some unique photos of the inside of Clara Rockmore's custom theremin which was created to her own personal specifications by Leon Theremin himself in the mid 1930's. This instrument is quite unlike the RCA theremins in both its interior and exterior design and construction.
Clara Rockmore's Custom Theremin
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Here is a page that explores - mostly through archival photos - the simultaneous development and presentation of the ondes Martenot and the theremin by their respective inventors: Maurice Martenot and Leon Theremin.
The Ondes Martenot And The Theremin
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In recent years there has been a renewal of interest in the “theremin cello”, one of the five musical instruments invented in the early 20th century by Leon Theremin (the other four being the theremin, the theremin keyboard, the rhythmicon and the terpsitone). Thanks to the efforts of musicologist Olivia Mattis the theremin cello, an instrument which had not been heard in decades, had an on-stage revival in 2002, in the SLEE CONCERT HALL on the University of Buffalo's Amherst Campus. I was fortunate to be in the audience that evening and to be able to attend an afternoon rehearsal (with digital camera in hand).
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The Persephone fingerboard continuous controller is an analogue synthesizer capable of portamento over a range of more than ten octaves. As a portamento instrument, it is related (at least in spirit) to the theremin, and to such instruments as the ondes Martenot and the now obsolete Hellertion. Since I have a Persephone in my studio I thought I would include a sample of what it sounds like.
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