Touch! Don't touch!

Greetings. I live in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and I've recently become addicted to theremin. Neighborly tollerance will soon be put to the test. October 1st. was a beautiful day so I saddled my ZXR400 ( the other example of the mid-life-crisis) and screamed down to Brussells (Belgium), to see Barbara Buchholz, and Lydia Kavina. A month ago I had no idea who they were and what was that instrument again?
She doesn't get to tell me what to do anymore.Thanks Kevin.
Not unlike the sound which we all cherish, the beauty of the impossible pitch from four cylinders of raging rotating matter is something to behold. And the wind! Actually it's the white wind which can take up permanent residence so musn't forget the ear-plugs. What about that Fourtet guy in the Paradiso the other night; wow, he tried to kill us! The loneliness of the long distance rider is quite challenging; meditative and musical but let the concentration slip for a moment too long and your'e brown bread (if you're lucky). It's not a bad way to go but I've got so much to do. Do you realize how much music there is in the world? Not to mention women. I'm definately going to apply for a new life.
Mim.Musee des Intsruments de Musique. What a fantastic building all riveted cast iron like the Eiffel tower. And what does it say up there? 'Old England'-it used to be a factory for bespoke tailoring. Quite appropriate as I check in my Arai with the Union Jack on the sides." C'est beau" agrees the attendant. Got to change. Can't sit through a concert in padded trousers what if the're all in evening dress? Well, my worries of not having a reservation are unfounded as people trickle in. Let me see, 12 ropees per head from this meagre flock will probably cover the running costs for the evening. And the bar's not open! Cd's for sale from Barbara, Lydia and Messer Chups but I don't have enough cash and I've got to find gas later.
Here we have Barbara Buchholz and Lydia Kavina.
Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin.
Tobias rempe- Violin
Cosima Gerhardt-cello
Heather O'Donnel-piano
Dirk Rothbrust-percussion
pedda Borowski-overhead projection.
Ten pieces from different contempory (I think) composers were played whilst pedda (they wrote p not P) freely applied watery strokes of colour made visible by overhead projection. This was initialy intruiging and had its moments but fell between a truly uninhibited childlike abandonment on one hand (matchstick men) and an accomplished skill on the other. I found most of the music extremely desolate and challenging. It seemed to be avant garde deja vu. I thought that at one point Barbara and Lydia were playing scissors-rock-paper with each other. I did enjoy 'The Son Of The Daughter Of Dracula Versus The Incredible Frankenstein Monster (From Outer Space) by Moritz Eggert, and my favourite was KITEJ-19 by Iraida Yusupova which Lydia played solo against a tape. Oooh those long notes. The audience responded very warmly and I would like to see and hear it all again. Barbara, do you have a boyfreind?
Well my story continues with changing clothes in the street and escape from Brusselles but I've had it for this evening and I'm going to watch England. I love Spellbound.

IcallhimThero, you were not the only Dutchman at the concert. Wilco Botermans (http://www.theremin.nl) and I were also there. For us it was the second time we heard Touch!,Don't Touch!, first time was in Bielefeld, in June. In my opinion the Brussels concert was a much better performance, mainly because the musicians seemed to make better contact and felt more at ease with the pieces played. (So did we :-))

The pieces are composed by young composers (5 German,5 Russian), especially for this project.
Not all the pieces are equally interesting, but combined they make a nice program.
The paper-and-scissor movements with the hands are part of the composition Theremin-Inseln, by Nicolaus Richter de Vroe (they are written in the score). As was the flashlight part in Kitej-19, by Iraida Yusupova. Which composition leaned to heavy on the accompanying tape, to my taste. But Lydia did wonders with it (especially in Brussels).
Better save some extra money, because they are going to record the program in a studio for cd release. (Should have been a DVD...)

The day after Touch!,Don't Touch! Lydia did another concert at the MIM, 'Inner ear and naked eye'. She played the theremin as a controller, using the visuals and sounds that Joachim Schaefer provided on his laptop, to have the output heard and shown on a big screen. Fascinating! And only twenty people in the audience, such a shame.

Oh, and as for Barbara; she's married to her theremin :-)

--
greetings,
Jessica

Hello jessica,
yes, it,s a pity it wasn't 21, but I got back at 3 a.m. after driving round Brussels on reserve looking for gas and then finding they prefer bilboards to signposts. I was totally wacked and couldn't manage another slog in the rain on Sunday.
Look forward to hearing more of Wilco. I've just avoided working again by reading his excellent thesis but then the links failed. Just as well.
Greetings,
Robert.