Who is Oskar Sala, the composer honoured by Google in its doodle today?

Oskar Sala's notable work includes the bird sounds in Alfred Hitchock's 'The Birds' and in Rosemary (1959)

Google on Monday is celebrating the 112nd birthday of German composer and physicist Oskar Sala by honouring him in its latest doodle. Born on July 18, 1910, in Germany's Greiz, Sala is best known for his work in creating sounds effects for TV, radio, and films on a musical instrument called mixture-trautonium. 

The German composer was born to a singer and ophthalmologist father, who also had musical talent. Sala started creating compositions and songs for instruments like the violin and piano at the age of 14. 

Take a beat to celebrate German electronic composer Oskar Sala's 112th birthday. He developed & played the mixture-trautonium, which introduced a unique sound to television, radio & film.

Learn about his legacy & instrument in today’s #GoogleDoodle → https://t.co/YC1kOPZFxe pic.twitter.com/r1wXsrDoLW

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) July 17, 2022

Sala's notable work includes the bird sounds in Alfred Hitchock's ‘The Birds’ and in Rosemary (1959). The instrument that Sala played created noises like bird cries, hammering and door and window slams.

Sala became fascinated by the tonal possibilities and the technology the trautonium offered by the instrument. The composer's life mission became mastering the instrument and developing it further, which inspired his studies in physics and composition at school, Google wrote in its blog. 

His focus led him to develop his own instrument called the mixture-trautonium, an instrument that was capable of playing several sounds or voices simultaneously.

Sala received several awards for his work and was honoured in radio broadcasts and movies. He also built the Quartett-Trautonium, Concert Trautonium and the Volkstrautonium, Google said. Due to his dedication and creative energy, he became a one-man orchestra.