| This study examines the invention and history of the Theremin electronic musical instrument in relation to the emergence of electronic music. After Lee De Forest invented the oscillator in 1915, revolutionizing the radio industry, Russian inventor Leon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen, 1896), utilized this technology in 1919 to develop the first fully functional electronic musical instrument. Named after its inventor, the Theremin employed a unique operational configuration. Without touching the instrument, the player controlled pitch through relative proximity of the right hand to a vertical antenna, and volume through similar movements of the left hand in relation to a horizontal antenna. The instrument employed a heterodyne, or beat frequency system, and boasted a range of three to four octaves.;On the invitation of Lenin, Theremin travelled throughout Russia, successfully demonstrating his instrument, and came to Europe in 1927, where his sensational presentations caused considerable excitement in Germany, France and England. Critics hailed his instrument as a revolution in music, and he quickly garnered international recognition.;Later in 1927 Theremin travelled to the United States where he remained until 1938. His years in the U.S. brought public, professional and corporate support, and in 1929 he sold the patent rights to his instrument to the Radio Corporation of America which manufactured and sold 500 instruments between 1929 and 1931. The inventor collaborated with Leopold Stokowski on the development of a fingerboard Theremin which the conductor employed in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1929 to 1931. Theremin performed as soloist with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra, and frequently presented coast to coast broadcasts with his instrument. He attracted a loyal following of students, a few of whom performed extensively on his instrument across the U.S. and Europe. In his later years in America, Theremin concentrated his efforts on the development of improved instruments, and various capacitive and photoelectric systems for industrial clients. In 1938 he returned to the Soviet Union. Theremin's instrument was an important catalyst in the crystallization of early electronic music and instruments. |
