The instrument was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeyevich Termen (known in the West as Leon Theremin) in October 1920 after the outbreak of the Russian Civil War.
It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other.
After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, Theremin moved to the United States, where he patented his invention in 1928.
Subsequently, Theremin granted commercial production rights to RCA. Although the RCA Thereminvox (released immediately following the Stock Market Crash of 1929) was not a commercial success, it fascinated audiences in America and abroad.
One of these electronics enthusiasts, Robert Moog, began building theremins in the 1950s, while he was a high-school student.
(Around 1955, a colleague of Moog's, electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott, purchased one of Moog's theremin subassemblies to incorporate into a new invention, the Clavivox, which was intended to be an easy-to-use keyboard theremin.) Since the release of the film An Electronic Odyssey in 1993, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians.
In any case, Theremin did not return to the United States until 1991. After a flurry of interest in America following the end of the Second World War, the theremin soon fell into disuse with serious musicians, mainly because newer electronic instruments were introduced that were easier to play.
(Around 1955, a colleague of Moog's, electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott, purchased one of Moog's theremin subassemblies to incorporate into a new invention, the Clavivox, which was intended to be an easy-to-use keyboard theremin.) Since the release of the film An Electronic Odyssey in 1993, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians.
In his 2000 biography of the inventor, Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage, Albert Glinsky suggested he had fled to escape crushing personal debts, and was then caught up in Stalin's political purges.
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