Clara Rockmore’s Lost Theremin Album

Sale Price: $16.99

Average Rating:

Reviews

Heavenly!

by Claudine Jones from SF Bay Area on 2010-08-03
Okay, full disclosure, I am a total Clara Rockmore slut. I love, love, love her! I'm listening to this album right now & it makes me cry. Her intonation is so solid, I compare her to a beloved soprano whom you know will hit those high notes without fail. Always gives you that special thrill. And, of course, unbelievable on the low tones, too. If you do not care for the Theremin, so be it. If you do, bless you, you will be in heaven with this album.

Master performer of the Theremin.

by John S. Lasher from Broken Hill, NSW, Australia on 2010-05-08
No one does it better! Clara Rockmore, who studied under Leon Theremin, the inventor of this iconic instrument, plays the selections with effortless art -- and passion.

Wow!

Irritating Instrument

by The Z from Ohio USA on 2009-12-31
The Theremin on this album seems to be an awful instrument to listen to over any length of time. I think that the Timbre of the Theremin used for this album is poor. Possibly modern Theremins are better in this regard. I feel as though I have thrown good money away.

As an analogy, I think that this may be likened to Kenny G playing the slide whistle instead of a soprano sax!

If you don't appreciate this Theremin CD, just try to play one!

by Donald G. Hite III from Houston, Tx USA on 2008-09-11
I am a VERY amateur thereminist, and Rockmore's playing is EXCEPTIONAL, both as a thereminist and just as a musician period. From interviews and her method book, it is clear that she was adamant about the theremin being approached as a serious instrument, and not just a toy for making weird sounds. As this CD attests, she certainly succeeded in that.

My favorites on this disc are Estrellita and Humoresque, although all the pieces are played well. Rockmore musicality is beyond reproach and her technical playing superior to any other player I've heard (and there aren't many... Lydia Kavina is excellent, but she doesn't have the string-like musicality and bravado of Rockmore). Rockmore's playing testifies to her training as violinist.

The only limitation on the theremin in my opinion is the inability to vary the tone color. One of the most powerful expressive tools on many instruments (particularly voice and strings - which I feel are most similar to the theremin) is tone color. On a theremin the sound you hear is what you get... you can vary the volume and the intonation (through vibrato), but the sound itself is pretty static. Maybe one day a theremin will be designed that can respond to hand position or something to allow variations in timbre.

Either way, this is a great CD as a novelty, but also has lasting power due to Rockmore's musical and technical mastery.

ENJOY!

Haunting

by Tonn Borde from New York, NY on 2008-05-06
I also bought this CD after Rockmore's "Art of the Theremin." Different from its use in science fiction movies, here, the theremin sounds plaintive and-- it's hard to resist-- haunting, like a combination of a woman's voice, a musical saw, and a violin. Different from other reviewers who find the theremin boring, I enjoy the contrast between the theremin and acoustic instruments of the accompanying orchestra and piano. I especially like "Midnight Bells" ("Gehen wir ins chambre séparée" from Heuberger's operetta, "Der Opernball"), a waltz duet recorded solo by sopranos including Beverly Sills.