In this article, the author of 'Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage' takes a look back on the theremin’s 100-year journey with a collection of surprising facts and memorable anecdotes to excite anyone with a love for music history. Léon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen, Russian: Лев Сергеевич Термен) (August 15, 1896 – November 3, 1993) was a Russian inventor. After the Soviet consulate had apparently demanded he divorce Katia, the inventor fell in love with and married the young prima ballerina Lavinia Williams. The tubes produced oscillations at slightly different low frequencies. The CIA found the device in the Great Seal carving. The Claravox Centennial – named after Clara Rockmore, the original theremin virtuoso – features brass antennas, control panels bound in cloth, and an attractive walnut cabinet. This page was last changed on 9 March 2019, at 05:04. Lights lead the way to rapid learning with the Poputar system, Review: Soundpeats nails it again with new H1 wireless earbuds, Kokoon says its new, ultra-thin NightBuds are amazing in bed, Taylor GT acoustic combines compact comfort with big sonic personality, Cyclotech brings a totally unique propulsion system to the eVTOL world, Loyal Wingman combat drone taxis for the first time, Ancient tectonic plate discovered beneath Canada, geologists claim, MGB roadster to hit the streets again – in electric form. When it comes to the remarkable story of Leon Theremin and the instrument that bears his name, Albert Glinsky wrote the book on it—literally. By 1954, Bob and his father were building and selling theremins from the family home in Queens, New York, and the R.A. Moog Company was founded to market the instrument kits. Theremin moved to the United States, arriving December 30, 1927 with his first wife, Katia Constantinova. Looking somewhat like the conductor of an orchestra, the player stands in front of the instrument and controls output pitch by moving a hand close to or away from one antenna, and amplitude in the same way but at the other antenna. He developed performance locations that could automatically react to dancers' movements with varied patterns of sound and light. It was way back in 1920 that Lev Sergeyevich Termen, better known as Leon Theremin in the west, first demonstrated one of the most important electronic musical instruments ever. The signals are amplified and output to a speaker. Electricity is for killing traitors in the electric chair",[3] fired Theremin,[11] closed his laboratory[3] and had his instruments destroyed. Early instruments saw radio tubes housed in a control box that had metal antennas attached left and right. [8][9], After his release from the labor camp in 1947, Theremin volunteered to remain working with the KGB until 1966. Theremin's device was embedded in a carved wooden plaque of the Great Seal of the United States. [3] His marriage to the African-American dancer caused shock and disapproval in his social circles, but the couple remained together. The devices sonic character and sound sculpture possibilities come courtesy of the analog wave-shaping circuit from Moog's Etherwave Pro, and there's a built-in analog delay to add some warmth. Violin prodigy, and fellow Russian, Clara Rockmore was introduced to the device, and switched to Theremin's invention as her primary instrument. [3] He performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. [1][7] Lavrentiy Beria, head of the KGB then used Buran to spy on US, British and French embassies. He worked with the American Negro Ballet. Theremin created the "Buran" eavesdropping system which recorded conversations in French and American embassies by measuring the window glass vibrations using a low power infrared beam from a distance. [14], From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Glinsky 41, "patent ... radio watchman and the Termenvox ... By December 8, 1924, Len had two, Glinsky 341, "where Lev Sergeyevich had constructed musical instruments", Glinsky 341, "his rough dismissal in 1967", Wikipedia:How to write Simple English pages, United States Patent and Trademark Office, "Eavesdropping using microwaves - addendum", "Special Section: Leon Theremin, Pioneer of Electronic Art", "An Interview with Leon Theremin / Olivia Mattis and Leon Theremin in Bourges, France", Theremin Centre, Moscow, holds Lev Sergeivitch Termen archives (Russian only), Natalia Theremin's interview to magazine AURA-Z, Lev Sergeivitch Termen: The Inventor of the theremin, Online bibliography about both the man and the instrument, Inventor of the Week Archive - LEON THEREMIN (1896-1993), https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Léon_Theremin&oldid=6468014, Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL, Pages needing to be simplified from October 2011, Articles containing Russian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.