Review
------
"Glinsky has traced the fascinating story of Lev Termen,
Russian scientist, radio engineer and inventor of the first
electronic musical instrument. The haunting wail of the
'theremin' is perhaps best known from the Beach Boys' 1966 hit
'Good Vibrations', but Glinsky demonstrates that its inventor
deserves to be more than a footnote in the history of modern
music... A fascinating rediscovery of a forgotten man, and a
valuable contribution to the history of the future." Times
Literary Supplement "Albert Glinsky's splendid and authoritative
biography of Leon Theremin is the first complete recounting of an
amazing life that spanned--and changed--the twentieth century."
Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist "Glinsky
unfolds an impossibly rich narrative with clarity, breadth, and a
contagious sense of excitement... A barely imaginable life,
lived, to the last, by a true enigma." Bookforum "With Theremin,
Albert Glinsky has created an amazing new thriller biography. As
a guide book through the twentieth century, Theremin is an
incredible story of invention, music, history, science, and
espionage--a celebration of pure creativity." David Harrington,
Kronos Quartet
Synopsis
--------
Albert Glinsky's "Theremin" blends the whimsical and the
treacherous into a chronicle that takes in everything from the
KGB to Macy's store windows, Alcatraz to the Beach Boys,
Hollywood thrillers to the United Nations, Joseph Stalin to
Shirley Temple. "Theremin"'s world of espionage and invention is
an amazing drama of hidden loyalties, mixed motivations, and an
irrepressibly creative spirit. Albert Glinsky is an award-winning
composer whose music has been performed throughout the U.S.,
Europe, and the Far East.He holds degrees from The Juilliard
School and a Ph.D. from New York University, and his work has
been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is Composer-in-Residence
and Professor of Music at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania.
Robert Moog developed the original classic Moog electronic music
synthesizer and has been designing and building theremins since
1954. Currently, he is the president of Moog Music Inc., the
world's leading manufacturer of theremins. This is a volume in
the series "Music in American Life".
From the Author
---------------
Albert Glinsky is an award-winning composer whose music has been
performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. He holds
degrees from The Juilliard School and a Ph.D. from New York
University, and his work has been honored by the National
Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and
Letters. He is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at
Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania. Robert Moog developed the
original classic Moog electronic music synthesizer and has been
designing and building theremins since 1954. Currently he is the
president of Moog Music Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of
theremins.
From the Inside Flap
--------------------
LEON THEREMIN led a life of flamboyant musical invention
laced with daring electronic stealth. A creative genius and
prolific inventor, Theremin launched the field of electronic
music virtually singlehandedly in 1920 with the musical
instrument that bears his name. The theremin -- the only
instrument that is played without being touched -- created a
sensation worldwide and paved the way for the modern synthesizer.
Its otherworldly sound became familiar in sci-fi films and even
in rock music. This magical instrument that charmed millions,
however, is only the beginning of the story.
As a Soviet scientist, Theremin surrendered his life and work to
the service of State espionage. On assignment in Depression-era
America, he became the toast of New York society and worked the
engines of capitalist commerce while passing data on U.S.
industrial technology to the Soviet apparat. Following his sudden
disappearance from New York in 1938, Theremin was exiled to a
Siberian labor camp. He subsequently vanished into the top-secret
Soviet intelligence machine and was presumed dead for nearly
thirty years. Using the same technology that lay behind the
theremin, he designed bugging devices that eavesdropped on U.S.
diplomatic offices and stood at the center of a pivotal cold war
confrontation. Throughout his life, Theremin developed many other
electronic wonders, including one of the earliest televisions and
multimedia devices that anticipated performance art and virtual
reality by decades.
In this first full biography of Leon Theremin, Albert Glinsky
depicts the inventor's nearly one-hundred-year life span as a
microcosm of the twentieth century. Theremin is seen at the
epicenter of most of themajor events of the century: the Russian
Revolution, two world wars, America's Great Depression, Stalin's
purges, the cold war, and perestroika. His life emerges as no
less than a metaphor for the divergence of communism and
capitalism.
Theremin blends the whimsical and the treacherous into a
chronicle that takes in everything from the KGB to Macy's store
windows, Alcatraz to the Beach Boys, Hollywood thrillers to the
United Nations, Joseph Stalin to Shirley Temple. Theremin's world
of espionage and invention is an amazing drama of hidden
loyalties, mixed motivations, and an irrepressibly creative
spirit.
About the Author
----------------
Albert Glinsky is an award-winning composer whose music has
been performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. He
holds degrees from The Juilliard School and a Ph.D. from New York
University, and his work has been honored by the National
Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and
Letters. He is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at
Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania. Robert Moog developed the
original classic Moog electronic music synthesizer and has been
designing and building theremins since 1954. Currently he is the
president of Moog Music Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of
theremins.