The theremin is one of the first electronic musical instruments invented and I can't say I was ever crazy about it. I always thought of it as something used to add an eerie quality to certain psychological films like Hitchcock's "Spellbound" or science-fiction films such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
As it turned out, the theremin had an enormous influence on the later history of electronic music.
Named after its creator Léon Theramin (Lev Sergievich Terman), it was treated by others as a serious musical instrument especially when played by its greatest exponent, Clara Rockmore, She, as a matter of fact, happened to be the sister of my last piano teacher, Nadia Reisenberg, who often accompanied her but I knew nothing about this during my piano studies.
One of the problems with this documentary would have been very simple to remedy: it is usually impossible to know who is being shown without a caption though that could usually be worked out by the context. In the case of Clara Rockmore, there was a family resemblance and Nicolas Slonimsky had a familiar face. But another problem has been mentioned often enough: the aged Theremin's speech in the English language is incomprehensible and should have been subtitled (Only when he spoke Russian were subtitles included.). In fact, an English subtitles option would have been very welcome throughout.
I also think, in view of various questions which have come up, that the "abduction" of Theremin from the United States in 1938 seems too much of a whitewash. In view of his invention of a bugging device which was used for espionage against the United States, one wonders where the real allegiance of the inventor lay.
It was thought, for many years, that Theremin had been executed by the Soviet government but in a real "believe it or not" story, he turned up late in life and eventually went back to the U.S. for a time. His unexpected reunion with Rockmore made for a very touching ending for the documentary.
Another not very user-friendly DVD and, I would hope if it is ever reissued, that these problems could be remedied.
As it turned out, the theremin had an enormous influence on the later history of electronic music.
Named after its creator Léon Theramin (Lev Sergievich Terman), it was treated by others as a serious musical instrument especially when played by its greatest exponent, Clara Rockmore, She, as a matter of fact, happened to be the sister of my last piano teacher, Nadia Reisenberg, who often accompanied her but I knew nothing about this during my piano studies.
One of the problems with this documentary would have been very simple to remedy: it is usually impossible to know who is being shown without a caption though that could usually be worked out by the context. In the case of Clara Rockmore, there was a family resemblance and Nicolas Slonimsky had a familiar face. But another problem has been mentioned often enough: the aged Theremin's speech in the English language is incomprehensible and should have been subtitled (Only when he spoke Russian were subtitles included.). In fact, an English subtitles option would have been very welcome throughout.
I also think, in view of various questions which have come up, that the "abduction" of Theremin from the United States in 1938 seems too much of a whitewash. In view of his invention of a bugging device which was used for espionage against the United States, one wonders where the real allegiance of the inventor lay.
It was thought, for many years, that Theremin had been executed by the Soviet government but in a real "believe it or not" story, he turned up late in life and eventually went back to the U.S. for a time. His unexpected reunion with Rockmore made for a very touching ending for the documentary.
Another not very user-friendly DVD and, I would hope if it is ever reissued, that these problems could be remedied.