from Baltimore CityPaper March 19, 2003

CRITIC’S CHOICE: SPECIAL EVENTS

RUSSIAN FAMILY DAY AT THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM

MARCH 23

Thoroughly sick of everything Russian as we may be, we much admit this sounds pretty cool. Jumping off from the recent St. Petersburg hoo-ha, the Walters Art Museum hosts a day of free family-friendly Russki activities. In addition to offering a chance to take in shows such as the Faberge Managerie and Origins of the Russian Avant-Garde (featuring Wasily Kandinsky’s “Female Rider and Lions,”) gratis and the usual brace of kid-friendly art activities, the event presents local musician/composer Lorraine Whittlesey hosting a screening of the too-bizarre-to-believe documentary Theremin: An Electronic Osyssey at 10 A.M. and then doing a demo with the title electronic gizmo at 11 A.M. Making your own Faberge egg is cool and all, but how often do you get to be in the room with a real live theremin, huh ? Vivat! that. 10 A.M. -5 P.M., Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St., (410) 547-9000, www.thewalters.org, free. (Lee Gardner)

After the event, the audience was invited to ‘try their hands’ at playing the theremin. The theremin is a ‘hands-off’ instrument played by moving one’s hands near the 2 antennas which control the instrument’s pitch and volume.