Theremin

Spooky sounds and ghostly wailings are usually what come to mind when people imagine the sound of the theremin. With “Air Électrique”, Thorwald Jorgensen and Kamilla Bystrova go beyond the novelty of the theremin and let the music speak for itself.

Forget everything that you have heard up to now. There is no limit, everything is possible!
The theremin is the only instrument that is made to sound without being touched. The hands of the performer dance in the air, whereas traditional musical instruments are made to sound by blowing, bowing, plucking or striking. Invented by the Russian Lev Theremin in the 1920s, the theremin fell into oblivion for decades, one of the reasons being that only few compositions were written for this instrument. In TOUCH! DON’T TOUCH!, Barbara Buchholz and Lydia Kavina resume the thread of the history of the theremin with the help of new compositions and interactive projection. Five German and four Russian composers were commissioned to write pieces for two theremins and instrumental ensemble. The cooperation between these composers have placed a special emphasis on exploration and experiment, based on the possibilities of the instrument.

Widely regarded as one of today's most important composers of orchestral music, Kalevi Aho has written fifteen symphonies to date, but also twenty concertos. Indeed, he himself describes his on-going series of concertos for each of the main instruments in the Romantic symphony orchestra as 'one of the most important and most ambitious of my composition projects'. One of the latest additions to this series is the Horn Concerto, composed for the Finnish horn-player Annu Salminen who also performs it on the present recording.

Widely regarded as one of today's most important composers of orchestral music, Kalevi Aho has written fifteen symphonies to date, but also twenty concertos. Indeed, he himself describes his on-going series of concertos for each of the main instruments in the Romantic symphony orchestra as 'one of the most important and most ambitious of my composition projects'. One of the latest additions to this series is the Horn Concerto, composed for the Finnish horn-player Annu Salminen who also performs it on the present recording……

In 1975, electronic music pioneer Robert Moog realized a long-held dream at his own expense, to document in high quality recordings the artistry of his idol, Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, who was getting on in years. The equivalent of at least two albums were recorded at Producers Recording Studio in New York with Rockmore, her aging instrument that Moog had just revived from a state of disrepair, and Rockmore's longtime accompanist (and sister) Nadia Reisenberg.