On December 14th, "Theremin, a Secret Story," my radio narrative produced by Radio Papesse, winner of the Premio Lucia 2024, was presented at the Lucia Festival.
Scholars of ancient societies were among the first to recognize the importance of material culture: the artifacts of lost civilizations have proven to be fundamental tools for reconstructing the lives of vanished populations. However, the interdisciplinary methods of studying material culture are also applicable to modern societies: all artifacts reflect the beliefs of their inventors, buyers, commissioners, and, by extension, the broader society to which they belong.
Born in post-Tsarist Russia and marketed in the United States during the Great Depression, the Theremin is an artifact belonging to the class of devices, a category disadvantaged in the study of contemporary material culture because those who deal with the history of devices almost always tend to focus on functional and mechanical aspects, neglecting cultural interpretations of the objects.
Is this story the secret history of the Theremin — the musical device — or is it the secret history of Theremin, the inventor of the eponymous instrument? And are we sure it's possible to tell one story without invading the other?
For too long, the history of technological music and its devices has been pushed to emphasize taxonomic classifications at the expense of social context. The lack of interest in the environment surrounding the genesis and development of electronic musical devices has led to the loss of many important meanings and stories, such as those of the debuts of Clara Rockmore, Paul Robeson, or Lavinia Williams.
Theremin, a secret history explores the social history of a device, highlighting the need for an interdisciplinary approach in historical storytelling to remind us that starting to ask questions again can be a good way to start writing a new story.
You can listen to it below.
Illustrazioni e grafiche che accompagnano il lavoro sono a cura di eeviac.
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