Rockmore had a number of gifts that enabled her to play the Theremin so expertly. She had active perfect pitch, critical to playing an instrument that can generate tones of any frequency. She was a child prodigy as a violinist, but was unable to play it past her teen years, because of bone problems due to childhood malnutrion in her native Russia. She had extremely precise and rapid control of her movements, an absolute requirement for playing an instrument that depends on motion and proximity, rather than touch. One final advantage is that she worked with Léon_Theremin directly from the early days of the instrument's development. Indeed, a number of refinements of the early instruments were due to her input or were on her behalf.

Rockmore knew how to evoke the music she wanted from the Theremin, and could do so in a way that was beautiful to watch as well as to hear. It was Theremin's instrument as the inventor, but it was hers as a performer.

Table of contents

1 CDs 2 Videos 3 External Links

CDs

• "The Art of the Theremin", Delos International, 1987