Theremin, Ether Music and Espionage by Albert Glinsky
foreword by Robert Moog (University of Illinois Press)
www.press.uillinois.edu



From an instrument of great fascination, producing and ether sound, to his inventor, Leon Theramin, this book is a long tripi on the memory lane of a distant time when the word “cold was ofetn heard, a fascinating reading which will be of interest not only to music fans but to those whose interest goes deep in the correlation of the american-russian society and social life in the twentieth century.
The life of mr .Theramin is well told by author Albert Glinsky who had the complex task to keep the interest alive on a subject not easy to expalain to readers, imagine even to a publisher! He makes it good, writing with great sensibility for details and offering a wide angle wiew on social aspects related to the man, to the society, the art, the technology, the music.
The theremin, an instruments based on waves which produces an eerie sound has a new audience in the latest generetion of music fans and each of them should have this one. This book is an opportunity to stay in touch with a past not so far from us when Russians offered limited autonomies to clever, intelligent, smart people and when the americans were only able to consider them casually as devils. Real facts were totally different and Theremin helped to spread the word around how to be russian and himself in such a beautiful far away land. Mr.Theremin needed freedom but, contrary to skillful musicians as Horowitz which found his freedom overseas, mr Leon did not leave his homeland for 51 years. His first staying in US finished as early as 1927 in a misterious way which makes this book even more interesting and totally intriguing. Don’t miss this book as soon as you start reading it you won’t stop.

Ernesto de Pascale