That guy up there, with that . . . contraption? He’s Leon Theremin, with his theremin — a musical instrument, of sorts. Theremin was a Russian inventor who lived from 1896 to 1993. (Long life.) Theremin also invented The Thing. What “thing,” you ask? The Thing.

I’ll quote from Wikipedia:

The Thing, also known as the Great Seal bug, was one of the first covert listening devices (or “bugs”) to use passive techniques to transmit an audio signal. It was concealed inside a gift given by the Soviet Union to W. Averell Harriman, the United States ambassador to the Soviet Union, on August 4, 1945.

There you have it. (For that entry in full, go here.)

In any event, I have some Martinů on my latest music podcast, my latest Music for a While — not just any Martinů but his Fantasia for String Quartet, Oboe, Theremin, and Piano.

I have some other curiosities as well. In the early 1920s, Hindemith wrote a piece called “Ragtime (Well-Tempered).” It combined ragtime with Bach.

There is also a song by Zemlinsky — written in the late 1920s. Zemlinsky made seven songs out of poems by Harlem Renaissance figures. One of those poems, by Langston Hughes, is “African Dance.” Actually, Hughes gives it a French title: “Danse Africaine.” Zemlinsky uses a German translation (“Afrikanischer Tanz”). Thus, we’re talking an American poem with a French title in a German translation.

Haydn died in 1809, meaning that the centenary of his death occurred in 1909. To mark the occasion, Ravel wrote a minuet, for piano: Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn. Yes, he incorporates the composer’s name into the minuet. Obviously, “A” and “D” are notes. But what about “H” and “Y” and “N”? Well, there’s a system . . .

Not long ago, I heard Sol Gabetta, the cellist, play a concerto, after which she played an encore, for cello alone. At some point during this piece, she began to sing. What the . . .? Anyway, this is a piece by Pēteris Vasks, a Latvian composer born in 1946.

So, yes, I have some curiosities, along with “standard” fare. Again, to listen to this curious podcast — an enjoyable one too, I hope — go here.