New Zealand composer, David Sidwell and Australian filmmaker, John Mandelberg developed a synaesthetic research project from 2004 to 2011 culminating in an audio-video performance piece: CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEREMIN AND SOPRANO Разговор меж терменвоксом и сопрано for Theremin, Soprano, Piano, Cello, Synthesiser, Light projections and video film production. This performance took place in August 18th, 2011 at SPARK 2011, at the Waikato Institute of Technology, School of Media Arts, International Arts Festival, Hamilton, New Zealand, featuring Lydia Kavina, world renown thereminist.

To develop this project they visited Moscow and Kazan in 2007, met Bulat Galeyev and other important Russian light-music artists in both cities. As well from 2007 to 2010 John Mandelberg negotiates the first English language publication of Galeyev’s SOVIET FAUST(1995), a seminal work on the life of Leon Theremin. It was published in Australia by Tom Thompson of ETT Imprint publishers.

The musical performance with accompanying video, uses the colour theory ideas of pioneering Russian composer Alexander Scriabin to correlate music and colour. The video is a record of our visit to Russia in 2007 and includes a dedication to the memory of Bulat Galeyev.

It is envisioned that this paper accompanies a live or DVD video performance of CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEREMIN AND SOPRANO.