Description

The Music of Gurdjieff/DeHartmann played by Thomas De Hartmann

3 CDs • Thomas De Hartmann, piano

The music of Gurdjieff/DeHartmann is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between G.I. Gurdjieff and the Russian composer, Thomas de Hartmann. Gurdjieff traveled for twenty years in the Middle East and Central Asia to discover and develop the teaching which now bears his name. In the 1920’s, he and DeHartmann worked together on the music included in this collection.

De Hartmann writes:
Mr. Gurdjieff generally whistled or played on the piano with one finger a very complicated kind of melody, as are all Eastern melodies, although they seem at first to be monotonous. To grasp the melody, to write it in European notation, required a kind of ‘tour de force’… Mr. Gurdjieff’s music had great variety. The most deeply moving was that which he remembered hearing in remote temples during his Asian travels. Listening to this music, one was touched to the depth of his being.

These are the only recordings available of Thomas de Hartmann himself playing the music he composed with Gurdjieff.

This disc set includes six additional pieces and a talk by de Hartmannn about Gurdjieff’s view of the music.

Thomas de Hartmann=Author