Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

In the 1920s and 30s, Russian inventor Léon Theremin (1896-1993) was a phenomenal success on concert stages in New York. Audiences went crazy for the sound of his theremin, a musical instrument that is played without being touched, which was for many people the first electronic instrument they had ever heard. But in the late 1930s, he vanished from the scene and returned to Russia under mysterious circumstances.

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssee, winner of the Documentary Filmmakers Trophy at Sundance in 1994, paints a picture of an exceptional life using archive footage and extensive interviews with friends and colleagues from his glory years. His personal story is intercut with that of his brainchild, the theremin, which shot to popularity in America.

The spooky sounds it generated were heard in creepy Hollywood science fiction movies in the 1940s and 50s. Musicians and composers working in that era tell us all about the development of the theremin, how it works, and how it laid the foundations for new electronic musical instruments, making its mark on modern pop music.