Thomas de Hartmann

Philosopher-guru Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and composer Thomas de Hartmann formed a symbiotic musical relationship in the 1920s; Gurdjieff, seeking music to use in the dance elements of his teachings, would present melodies to Hartmann, who would then turn them into finished pieces for piano. The result sounds a bit like proto-minimalism, and quite a lot like the later music of Alan Hovhaness, thanks to the shared Armenian inspiration. Thomas de Hartmann was born in Khoruzhevka, Ukraine, on September 21, 1885; he died in Princeton, N.J., on March 26, 1956. Hartmann studied ...