Calder Plays Theremin | Behind the Scenes

We invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Calder Plays Theremin," directed by filmmaker Michael Tyburski, featuring an original sound piece by composer and sound artist Dorit Chrysler.

In a new piece filmed at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, Berlin-based thereminist (and our dear friend) Dorit Chrysler brings a collection of electronic instruments together with sculptures on display in the museum’s 'Alexander Calder: Modern from the Start' exhibition for a novel experiment in sound and motion.

“Calder Plays Theremin” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXzn9flPPCQ) pays homage to both inventor Leon Theremin, whose eponymous invention has inspired generations of musicians and musical instrument creators, and sculptor Alexander Calder, who reimagined the art of sculpture as “an experiment in space and motion, upending centuries-old notions that sculpture should be static, grounded, and dense by making artworks that often move freely and interact with their surroundings,” according to MoMA. In this piece, Calder’s sculptures control the sound of each theremin, making for a truly unique and magical composition among these objects, personified as artists for the occasion.

“To hear a theremin trigger the Moog Model 15 synthesizer in the Sculpture Garden—priceless. The sound of a Calder mobile element rubbing against the antenna of a theremin producing microtonal sound in slight movement—breathtaking.” -composer and thereminist Dorit Chrysler

Visit moogmusic.com to read our complete interview with Dorit, where she shares what inspired her to develop the concept for this piece.

To watch "Calder Plays Theremin," visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXzn9flPPCQ.