Editor’s note: Allan Maurer is a contributor to WRAL TechWire and is one of its cofounders.

ASHEVILLE – Moog Music, which builds its instruments in Asheville, is updating the instrument that inspired the company, the eerie-sounding theremin. (Check out a video below to hear the results.)

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of Leon Theremin’s invention in Russia—one of the first electronic musical instruments. It ultimately led to Dr. Bob Moog’s development of the Moog modular synthesizer. To commemorate this milestone,Moog,  the world’s leading producer of theremins is offering a new limited-edition instrument: Claravox Centennial.

I remember the first time I heard the instrument on the soundtrack of MGM’s 1957 movie, “Forbidden Planet,” and most people likely heard it as spooky accompaniment to horror and scifi movies. But the theremin can be much more versatile than that.

The theremin was invented in a scientific laboratory in 1920 by Theremin, a Russian physicist. Theremin had a unique educational background, holding both a degree in physics and a degree in cello performance. It was this combination of skills that was the impetus for the invention that bears his name.

The theremin captivated many in its early days, but it would take a curious NYC teenager with a knack for science and an ear for music to help propel the instrument into the mainstream.

Along came Moog

In 1949, a teenager by the name of Bob Moog first learned of the theremin in an issue of Electronics World, and shortly after built his first model of the instrument from plans published in the magazine. By 1954, when he was just 19 years old, he and his father were building and selling theremins out of their home in Queens, New York.

“I became a designer of electronic musical instruments because of my fascination with the theremin,” Moog wrote in his foreword to Albert Glinsky’s Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage, the definitive biography of Leon Theremin. “Using the experience and insights I gained by designing theremins, I started designing and building synthesizers.”

Clara Rockmore, considered the finest theremin player ever, played classical music on the instrument. Photo by: Renato Toppo, courtesy of the Nadia Reisenberg/Clara Rockmore Foundation.

Along with classical applications from professional musicians like Clara Rockmore, the theremin has made its mark on popular culture through film scores, television references, and more. The instrument was used to create otherworldly audio effects in mid-century films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound, was used by Led Zeppelin, and provided the sounds that would accompany Neil Armstrong on the first trip to the Moon.

Moog now makes its instruments in its Asheville factory and components in Murphy, NC.

How the theremin works

While the theremin is the only instrument that can be played without physical contact, making it sound musical requires control and precision, the Moog folks explain.

The theremin is controlled by moving one’s hands in the air in the proximity of two metal antennas: one exists to determine pitch and the other determines volume. Higher notes are played by moving the hand closer to the pitch antenna, while louder notes are played by moving the hand away from the volume antenna.

“The brilliance of this technology is that Theremin determined that if you have an electrical field around [the pitch] antenna and it’s connected to a circuit, and you have an electrical field around [the volume] antenna connected to another circuit, then by bringing your hands near these electrical fields you are actually altering these electrical fields in such a way that it affects the circuits,” Glinsky Glinsky describes.

The theremin produces a tone close to a sine wave. It is a monophonic instrument, meaning it plays one tone at a time (unless it is used as a MIDI controller). Originally imagined to accompany or replace orchestral instruments like the violin and cello, the theremin has stood on its own, including in blockbuster movie soundtracks.

Claravox Centennial, named after Clara Rockmore, Moog Music says, “is the most versatile Moog theremin in history. Switchable Traditional and Modern performance modes allow players to select between classic heterodyne analog oscillators and multimode DSP oscillators (sine, triangle, saw, wavetable) with assignable scales, quantization, and octave ranges. An analog wave-shaping circuit (derived from the legendary Etherwave Pro) imbues ethereal sonic character and empowers rich sound-sculpting possibilities, and the on-board analog BBD delay creates a wash of spiraling echoes and resounding warmth.”

The Claravox Theremin from Moog Music. Moog photo.

Video: Grégoire Blanc Performs “Clair de Lune” with Claravox Centennial

Set among the baroque architecture and expansive gardens of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, French musician Grégoire Blanc channels theremin marvel Clara Rockmore in a stunning performance of Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” alongside pianist Orane Donnadieu. This tribute to the timeless classical duets of Rockmore and her sister, pianist Nadia Reisenberg, captures the beauty of the theremin’s distinct tone and personality—characteristics that will continue to captivate audiences into the next century.

Blanc said in an email:

“The theremin is still seen as a futuristic instrument today; we can imagine people’s reaction a hundred years ago when Leon Theremin presented his invention to the world! This is where it all began. The instrument paved the way to great innovations, inspiring generations of musicians, inventors, and sonic explorers all around the world. How could we celebrate a century of electronic music in a better way than with a brand new model of theremin?

“The magic of the theremin stems from its simplicity. You just have these two antennas to interact with, hence two parameters to control: pitch and volume—nothing more, nothing less. The resulting expressiveness is astonishingly musical, touching, emotional. Proposing a new version without denaturing this minimalistic equilibrium is a challenge, successfully met by the new Moog Claravox Centennial. In my opinion, this is a milestone. Beautifully engineered, easy to calibrate, and adjust to any playing technique: aside from being a fantastic theremin, it offers a whole lot of new features to expand what the instrument is capable of.

“Clara Rockmore was a pioneer. Her approach to the theremin as a classical instrument is unparalleled. Listening to her recordings is a truly mesmerizing experience.

“I am 23, like Leon Theremin when he introduced his instrument to the world. It is an honor to celebrate his legacy today.”