MoMA NY & Dorit Chrysler Present CALDER PLAYS THEREMIN - A Multi Movement Theremin Orchestra, February 23

CALDER PLAYS THEREMIN - A Multi Movement Theremin Orchestra played by Calder Sculptures has been announced at the Museum Of Modern Art.

Working with MoMA, composer and sound artist Dorit Chrysler used two resident Calder mobiles, several theremins, and, in MoMA's storied Sculpture Garden, a Moog Synthesizer 15 responding with programmed sounds triggered by the theremins.

On Thursday, February 23 at 7PM, New York's e-flux will host the US launch of Dorit Chrysler's new album Calder Plays Theremin (Fridman Gallery/NY Theremin Society 2023), featuring a live performance by Chrysler with visuals by the collective Optipus (Bradley Eros, Lary 7, Rachael Guma, Richard Sylvarnes), and a Q&A with Chrysler moderated by Cara Manes (moMA).

Featuring a multi-movement orchestra for the theremin composed by Dorit Chrysler, Calder Plays Theremin originated from a sound piece commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in conjunction with the exhibition Alexander Calder: Modern from the Start.

The launch event is in celebration of the Special Vinyl Edition (NY ThereminSociety/Fridman Gallery) and Binaural Audiocassette (Berlin Kinship) featuring a foreword by Albert Glinsky (author of biography Lev Theremin, Bob Moog) of Calder Plays Theremin, releasing the same day on February 23rd 2023.

"The theoretical synergy between Alexander Calder's ever-changing mobiles, turning and shifting endlessly through the air, and Theremin's antennas, ready to receive and translate into music the stimulus of any nearby moving object in the air, was irresistible." says Dorit Chrysler of her MoMA sound commission, "I recorded the interplay of sculpture and antennas onsite at the MoMA, then returned to the studio to sort and manipulate the sounds, mixing them into finished compositions in the best tradition of musique concrète."

The special binaural audiocassette edition of Calder Plays Theremin will be available on the Berlin Label KinShip/NYTS - Calder Plays Theremin Vinyl is also available at the MoMA Store and on bandcamp.

Credits: OnsiteRecording: DanielNeuman, Mix/Master: DavidDebris, Design: PaulSizer, Art: JakeMarsiglia, FilmDirection:MichaelTyburski, ProductionFilm: RachaelGuma, SonicContributors: JoeMcGinty, Lary7, SpecialThanks to:Cara Manes, Lynda Zycherman, David Choi & The Calder Foundation. Made possible with the kind support of the Calder Foundation, MoMA, ACF, BMKOES, Land Steiermark, Moog Music, Frauenreferat Graz, Stadt Graz, NYTS, FridmanGallery

Dorit Chrysler is a Berlin-based composer and sound artist, as well as co-founder of the NY Theremin Society. Her work explores new applications of the theremin instrument in various mediums. She has been awarded the Austrian State Stipend in Composition 2023 and earned her Master's Degree of Musicology in Vienna. Chrysler has performed worldwide (e.g. Coachella, Roskilde, Lincoln Center) and has written for film and theater. Her compositions are in permanent collections such as the Guggenheim & Moderne Museet.

Recent commissions include MoMA, Venice Biennale and Klang Fest. Chrysler has collaborated with the San Fransisco Symphony, CERN, Laurie Spiegel, Herb Deutsch, Elliot Sharp, Trentemøller, Alva Noto, Pioneerworks and Gaite Lyrique. Dorit has produced a ten piece orchestra performance for the LA DisneyHall and is the founder of "Dame Electric" a festival featuring female pioneers of electronic music. Her recordings appear on over 20 releases such as InMyRoomRecords (DE), The Prurience Factory (US), Monika Enterprise (DE), PlagDichNicht (AU), PlasticTray Records (US), and Mute.