Clara's 1938 Theremin Recital |
|
|
Dear Theremin – and more particularly – Clara Rockmore Fans
Let me
introduce myself. I’m Clara’s nephew, and founder
of a tax-exempt foundation to enhance her legacy and that of her
renowned sister (i.e. my mother),
the pianist Nadia
Reisenberg.
Our most
ambitious project to date has been the acquiring, restoring,
re-mastering and issuing of more than a dozen never-before-released
performances by Clara and Nadia.
These were taped by Robert Moog
at the same sessions that yielded the Delos recording,
and range from classical works of Bach, Schubert and Chopin to such
lighter repertory as “La Vie en
Rose” and “Summertime”.
I also commissioned Jorge Morel to prepare a new
guitar accompaniment for “Estrellita” and engaged 8
cellists to have the Aria from Villa-Lobos’
“Bachianas
Brasileiras
#5” with the original instrumentation. The new CD will be released
in early December by Bridge Records.
As you can
imagine, all
of this has been horribly expensive, and has considerably drained the
resources of the Foundation. As a result, other projects, such as the
release of Clara’s live performances over WQXR and at Merkin Hall
(some of which were excerpted in Steve Martin’s film), plus
all sorts of interviews, are necessarily on hold.
For the first
time, then, I’m going beyond our family resources to ask for
(tax-deductible) donations to the Nadia Reisenberg / Clara Rockmore
Foundation. If you can contribute
at least $50, I’ll
see that you get one of the first copies of the Bridge CD in December.
If you’re a real collector, though
– and rich enough to afford a contribution of at least ten
times that much – I have a very limited number of what public
radio fund-raisers call “thank you gifts.”
These include
a rather glamorous press photo of Clara from the very early 1940s,
prepared for her cross-country tours with Paul Robeson, and
original flyers from her 1938 Town Hall recital with Nadia Reisenberg.
For a still
more generous donation, I have a few full programs from that historic concert
(including ads for upcoming appearances by such other legendary artists
of the time as Heifetz,
Zimbalist,
Gieseking,
Dame Myra
If you can
help, please make your checks payable to the: Nadia Reisenberg /
Clara Rockmore
Foundation, and send them to me at 5 Tavano Road , Ossining NY 10562
If you have any questions, you can reach me by phone at 914 762-6282,
or via
e-mail: rsher762@aol.com
With many thanks and all best wishes...
Robert Sherman
|
|