The theremin owes a great deal to Clara Rockmore. Sure, it may have been invented by her good friend Leon Theremin, but in its earliest days the electronic instrument was a curiosity — writing for The Guardian, Sean Michaels compared its grand entry onto the electronic music stage to that of the Segway or Google Glass. Like those latter two 21st-century inventions, it was believed that the theremin would be a common fixture of life in the future. And also like the Segway and Google Glass, the forward march of the theremin petered out. But thankfully it didn’t fade into obscurity, thanks to the technique Rockmore brought to the instrument. It was she who proved that the theremin deserved a place in the concert hall and should be considered a “serious instrument.”
Rockmore was born in 1911 in what is now Lithuania, and what was then part of the Russian Empire. As a child, it was discovered that she had perfect pitch; at the age of four she entered the St. Petersburg Imperial Conservatory to study violin— the youngest student ever accepted by the institution. But the Russian Revolution introduced a violent turbulence throughout the land, prompting her family to flee to America. The young Rockmore had every intention of continuing her musical education, and became a student at the Curtis Institute in 1928 at the age of 17.
Tragedy struck, however, when she was diagnosed with arthritis in her bow arm, ending her dreams as a concert violinist. Her despair wouldn’t last long, though. She was soon introduced to Leon Theremin himself, who in turn introduced her to the instrument that bore his name. She brought her formal education and knowledge to its study. With her technique, she established herself as the world’s premier theremin player.
In the video above, you can watch her perform Camille Saint-Saën’s “The Swan” from his popular suite Carnival of the Animals. She included it on her first album, The Art of the Theremin. It was recorded in 1977, produced by Robert and Shirleigh Moog — of the Moog synthesizer — and featuring Rockmore’s sister Nadia Reisenberg on the piano.
Below, watch a conversation with Robert Moog, Rockmore and Reisenberg. It's moderated by Robert "Bob" Sherman, journalist and longtime WQXR host of Young Artists Showcase. And here's something more — Sherman is Nadia Reisenberg's son, which makes Clara Rockmore his maternal aunt. Their conversation is followed by Rockmore and Reisenberg's performance of "Hebrew Melody," also from The Art of the Theremin.