Howard Shore
Suite from “Ed Wood” (1994, 2000)
(5:07, 1:03, 2:16, 1:21, 1:00, 1:20, 1:51, 3:56)
Ensemble Sospeso
Charles Peltz, conductor
composer supervised recording
Percy Grainger
Free Music No.1 (1936) (1:22)
for four theremins
Free Music No.2 (1937) (1:21)
for six theremins
Beatless Music (1937) (0:31)
for six theremins
Christian Wolff
Exercise 28 (2000) (7:35)
for theremin, violin, French horn and double-bass
Ensemble Sospeso: Gemeinhardt, Menzies, McCoy
composer prepared recording
Olga Neuwirth
Suite aus “Bählamms Fest” (1999)
(4:52, 6:00, 2:39, 3:08, 3:21, 5:28, 2:40. 6:09)
Ensemble Sospeso
Charles Peltz, conductor
Miklós Rósza
“Spellbound” (1945, arr. 1946) (6:09)
Concerto for theremin & chamber ensemble
Ensemble Sospeso: LeClair, Menzies, Frautschi, Rozanna, Gordon, Gosling
As a follow-up to her first CD of original theremin works, “Music from the Ether”, Lydia Kavina returns with first recordings of major works for theremin and ensemble.
- The first recording of Miklos Rosza’s chamber version of music from the Hitchcock film “Spellbound”.
- 3 premiere recordings of works by Howard Shore, Olga Neuwirth and Christian Wolff.
- 2 premiere recordings of graphically notated works for multiple theremins by Percy Grainger.
- Oscar winning composer Howard Shore (“Lord of the Rings”) created his suite from the movie “Ed Wood” especially for Kavina, who performed on the original movie soundtrack.
- Leading Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth created this suite from her opera “Bahläams Fest” for Kavina, who performed in the opera’s premiere.
- Christian Wolff wrote “Exercise 58” especially for this project.
- Shore and Wolff supervised the recording and rehearsal of their works.
- This program was premiered at the 2000 Lincoln Center Summer Festival to a sold-out audience and received rave reviews.
- Liner notes by theremin expert Olivia Mattis.
- Original 96khz/24-bit high definition recording.
- Enhanced CD features a 16-minute video documentary from the recording sessions, including interviews with Kavina, Shore and Wolff.
What the critics said of the Lincoln Center concert:
“The program also included pieces derived from two film scores in which the theremin is prominent, Miklos Rozsa’s haunting “Spellbound” Concerto (1945-6) and Howard Shore’s entertainingly derivative “Ed Wood” Suite (2000). In these, and the Neuwirth, Ms. Kavina was supported by the Ensemble Sospeso’s beautifully played performances, conducted by Charles Peltz.”
— Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, July 21, 2000
“Bahläams Fest”…treated the theremin as an ensemble member, aptly combining it with strings, electric guitar, soprano saxophones and water-filled glass to reveal hitherto unsuspected possibilities for the instrument’s stereotypically eerie voice. Pianist Stephen Gosling and the Ensemble Sospeso under Charles Peltz were her deft partners in the all-theremin program.”
— Barbara Jepson, The Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2000