This is a short review of a show that was seen by Allen Walker sometime in 1950.
I believe it gives some insight on the type of player Mr. Whipple Abbott was...

Alexander Breton wrote:<Br>> Allen,>I was more interested to know what you FELT while you were there.What was it like?-Alex<snip>...Hi Alex,Well, we are talking about half-century old memories here! However, I'll try.I do remember that Abbott put on a good performance. He was obviously a seasoned performer who knew how to relate to an audience. He played in a visually dramatic way, and seemed to be literally pulling music out of the air itself. He spoke to the audience some about the pieces he was playing, but not about his instrument; it was as if he were playing something like the violin and didn't need to remark on his instrument. [He was certainly willing to talk about the theremin afterward.] Thinking back, that was a striking aspect of that concert. It simply was good (if unusual) music, and Abbott gave the feeling that playing the theremin was not at all a novelty, but rather was simply his instrument of choice.That's all I really remember. I fear that if I try to say more, I may end up making up stuff. While I enjoyed that concert, it was not the most notable one I experienced. It seems that I am old enough to have experienced a few ends of eras -- a performance by an original thereminist, theatre organs in regular use in theatres, trolley cars as an ordinary means of transportation, etc. The common thread among all of these experiences is that they did not seem remarkable at the time.Although I have liked theremins, I never got involved with them. I thought about building one, but I could tell that it is an instrument that would require a major commitment to play at all well, and other instruments interested me more -- there's no accounting for taste! [I spent considerable effort on the bass tuba.]That's about all I can contribute; I'm sorry it isn't more. Please feel free to use any of this material on your web site. Best of luck.Cheers,Allen

Thanks to C. Lester for unknowingly steering me in the right direction...

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