Photo of Lydia Kavina

Lydia Kavina

Biography

Lydia Evgenevna Kavina (Russian: Лидия Евгеньевна Кавина; born 8 September 1967) is a British-Russian theremin player, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The granddaughter of Léon Theremin's first cousin, Soviet anthropologist and primatologist Mikhail Nesturkh, Kavina was born in Moscow and began studying the instrument under the direction of Léon Theremin when she was nine years old. Five years later, she gave her first theremin concert, which marked the beginning of a musical career that has led to numerous concert, theatre, radio and television performances around the world. Kavina has appeared as a solo performer at such prestigious venues as the Royal Albert Hall in London, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bolshoi Zal (Great Hall) of the Moscow Conservatory, Moscow International Art Centre with National Philharmonic of Russia under Vladimir Spivakov and Bellevue Palace in Berlin, the residence of the German President. She has also performed at leading festivals, including Caramoor with the Orchestra St. Luke's, New York's Lincoln Center Festival, Holland Music Festival, Martinu Festival, Electronic Music Festival in Burge and Moscow “Avantgarde”. Kavina performs most of the classical theremin repertoire, including popular works for theremin by Bohuslav Martinů, Joseph Schillinger, and Spellbound by Miklós Rózsa, as well as Equatorial by Edgard Varèse and the lesser known Testament by Nicolas Obouchov. In addition to giving concerts, Kavina is a composer of music for theremin and teaches the instrument in Western Europe, Russia and the United States. Her video tutorial “Mastering the Theremin”, recorded with Moog Music in 1994, was one of the key moments in the renaissance of theremin performing art around the world. Lydia is the author of the online ThereminSchool Carolina Eyck was one of her students. Together with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, she played theremin for Howard Shore's soundtrack of the Oscar-winning film Ed Wood, as we

Bio from Wikipedia

Discography

Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Credited work

93 releases · 27 albums · active 1988–2025

  • Other credits · 97
  • Performance · 31
  • Production · 1

Studios: Lazer Studios · Topaz Studio · Howe Building · Air Lyndhurst Hall

Frequent collaborators

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