Clara Rockmore

Clara Rockmore

Clara Rockmore (March 9, 1911 – May 10, 1998[1]) was a virtuoso performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument.[2][3][4][5][6]

Contents

Biography

Born as Clara Reisenberg in (present-day) Vilnius, Lithuania, Rockmore was a child prodigy on the violin and entered the Imperial conservatory of Saint Petersburg at the age of five. She studied violin under the virtuoso Leopold Auer, and remains to this day the youngest student ever to be admitted to the institution. Unfortunately, bone problems due to childhood malnutrition forced her to abandon violin performance past her teen years. That however led her to discover the newborn electronic instrument and become the most renowned player of the theremin.[citation needed]

Rockmore had several gifts that enabled her to play the theremin so well. Her classical training gave her an advantage over the many theremin performers who lacked this background. She possessed absolute pitch from birth, helpful in playing an instrument that generates tones of any pitch throughout its range, not just those those defined by equal temperament. She had extremely precise, rapid control of her movements, important in playing an instrument that depends on the performer's motion and proximity rather than touch. She also had the advantage of working directly with Léon Theremin from the early days of the instrument's commercial development in the United States.[citation needed]

Rockmore, as the mature musician she was, saw the limitations of the original instrument and helped to develop the instrument to fulfill her needs, making several suggestions to improve the theremin as a performing instrument. Such suggestions, like a faster volume antenna, wider musical range, and control over the instrument's tone color were incorporated by the inventor in later versions. She had a special theremin tailored by Léon Theremin himself to meet her unique requirements.[citation needed]

She developed a whole technique for playing the instrument, including a fingering system, which allowed her to perform accurately fast passages and large note leaps without the much known portamento on theremin.[citation needed]

Her older sister was the concert pianist Nadia Reisenberg. Although Theremin proposed to her, Rockmore married attorney Robert Rockmore, and thereafter used his name professionally.[7]

She died in New York City on May 10, 1998, aged 87.

Albums

Film and video

References

Notes

  1. ^ Glinsky, p.340
  2. ^ Ostertag, Bob (December 2002). "Human bodies, computer music". Leonardo Music Journal (MIT Press) 12: 13. doi:10.1162/096112102762295070. http://bobostertag.com/images/pdfs/misc/02_humanbodies.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-10. "Clara Rockmore, in particular, became a bona fide theremin virtuoso by any definition of the word" 
  3. ^ Paradiso, Joseph A.; Neil Gershenfeld (Summer 1997). "Musical Applications of Electric Field Sensing". Computer Music Journal. series (MIT Press) 21:2 (2): 69–89. JSTOR 3681109. "few things since have matched Clara Rockmore's lyrical dynamics" 
  4. ^ Pringle, Peter. "Clara Rockmore". http://www.peterpringle.com/clara.html. Retrieved 2009-09-10. "great virtuoso thereminist of the 20th century ... astounded critics with her theremin artistry" 
  5. ^ Bailey, Bill (2004-10-15). "Weird science". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2004/oct/15/4. Retrieved 2009-09-10. "Clara Rockmore was rightly hailed in her time as a true star. ... Rockmore gained more recognition for her playing of the instrument than Theremin himself ever did for inventing it. ... warm praise from music critics" 
  6. ^ Ramone, Phil; Danielle Evin (2008-07-11). "Dog Ears Music: Volume Twenty-Eight". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-ramone-and-danielle-evin/dog-ears-music-volume-twe_b_112125.html. Retrieved 2009-09-10. "Genius thereminist Clara Rockmore" 
  7. ^ "The Nadia Reisenberg & Clara Rockmore Foundation". http://www.nadiareisenberg-clararockmore.org/clara_biography.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-18. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clara Rockmore — Clara Rockmore, née Clara Reisenberg le 9 mars 1911 à Vilnius en Lituanie, et décédée le 10 mai 1998 à New York aux États Unis, est l une des plus grandes virtuoses du thérémine. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Discographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clara Rockmore — (* 9. März 1911 in Vilnius; † 10. Mai 1998 in New York), geboren als Clara Reisenberg, war eine Instrumentalistin, die als Virtuosin auf dem Theremin, einem zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts erfundenen elektronischen Musikinstrument,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Clara Reisenberg Rockmore — Clara Rockmore Clara Rockmore, née Clara Reisenberg le 9 mars 1911 à Vilnius en Lituanie, et décédée le 10 mai 1998 à New York aux États Unis, est l une des plus grandes virtuoses du thérémine. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rockmore — Clara Rockmore Clara Rockmore, née Clara Reisenberg le 9 mars 1911 à Vilnius en Lituanie, et décédée le 10 mai 1998 à New York aux États Unis, est l une des plus grandes virtuoses du thérémine. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clara Reisenberg — Clara Rockmore Clara Rockmore, née Clara Reisenberg le 9 mars 1911 à Vilnius en Lituanie, et décédée le 10 mai 1998 à New York aux États Unis, est l une des plus grandes virtuoses du thérémine. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clara Reichenberg — Clara Rockmore (* 9. März 1911 in Vilnius; † 10. Mai 1998 in New York City), geboren als Clara Reichenberg, war eine Instrumentalistin, die als Virtuosin auf dem Theremin, einem zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts erfundenen elektronischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rockmore — ist der Name folgender Personen: Clara Rockmore (1911–1998), russische Instrumentalistin und Virtuosin auf dem Theremin Tom Rockmore (* 1942), US amerikanischer Philosoph Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterschei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Clara (Prénom) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Pour les articles homonymes, voir Clara. Clara est un prénom féminin qui se fête le 11 août. Prénom dérivé de Claire, du latin clarus, clara, clarum,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clara (prenom) — Clara (prénom) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Pour les articles homonymes, voir Clara. Clara est un prénom féminin qui se fête le 11 août. Prénom dérivé de Claire, du latin clarus,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clara (given name) — {{{name}}} Gender female Origin Word/Name Latin Meaning clear, bright, famous Other names Related names …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”