Google honours the physicist and 'one-man orchestra' - Oskar Sala

Google celebrated the 112th birthday of groundbreaking German electronic music composer and physicist Oskar Sala with an artistic doodle showing him working on his trautonium. Known for producing sound effects on a musical instrument called a trautonium mix, Salas electrified the worlds of television, radio and film. Sala was born in Greiz, Germany, in 1910.

Sala was born in Greiz, Germany, in 1910 and was immersed in music by birth. His father was an ophthalmologist with musical talent and mother was a singer. At age 14, Sala began creating compositions and songs for instruments such as violin and piano.

When Sala first heard of a device called a trautonium, he was fascinated by the tonal possibilities and technology the instrument offered. His life mission became to master trautonium and develop it further, which inspired his studies in physics and composition at school.

Sala received several awards for his work: he gave many interviews, met numerous artists, and was honoured on radio broadcasts and in movies. In 1995, he donated his original trautonium mixture to the German Museum for Contemporary Technology.

Sala also built the Quartett-Trautonium, the Concert Trautonium, and the Volkstrautonium. His efforts in electronic music opened up the field of subharmonics. With his dedication and creative energy, he became a one-man orchestra.