Search - Linda Daniel-Spitz, Charles Ketcham, Laurence Rosenthal :: Gurdjieff / de Hartmann: Music for the Piano, Vol. 2

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff was a modernist Renaissance man, able to conduct the boldly-named Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man and lead flocks of faithful spiritualists. He was also--as this two-CD set, its sibling Asian Songs and Rhythms, and two more sets attest--an articulate piano-music co-composer. Thomas de Hartmann, musically trained and familiar with various modernist arts movements, was Gurdjieff's collaborator on these 42 miniatures, adding a mix of pre-minimalist pacing and learned tonal elements to what Gurdjieff surely saw as indigenous folk sketches. Indeed, so much of this music is introspective that whole swirls of dance elements come to full fruition with a delicate grace. This is a fantastic solo piano recording. --Andrew Bartlett