| New 24-bit audiophile remastering of this CD from the original session recordings, first released in 1999. Russian Theremin virtuoso Lydia Kavina presents the FIRST RELEASE EVER dedicated to ORIGINAL compositions for the instrument -- spanning the 'golden age' of the Theremin from its invention in the 1920s to contemporary works. One of the first attempts to unite music and scientific technology in the 20th century, the Theremin is considered to be the ancestor of modern electronic musical instruments. Its evolution from scientific curiosity to virtuoso classical instrument (played by Clara Rockmore in Caregie Hall) to 'instrument of the future' (according to Cage, Varèse, Grainger and others) to Hollywood sound effects (played in soundtracks to Spellbound, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Lost Weekend) to rock-and-roll instrument (used by the Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin and others) has been well-documented. Lydia Kavina is the world's leading Thereminist today. The granddaughter of Leon Theremin's first cousin, she was the inventor's last protégée. She began studying the instrument with him at the age of nine, and was concertizing by age fourteen. Since then, Kavina has given over 500 concerts. |