The Gurdjieff Ensemble
The Gurdjieff Ensemble consists of leading musicians from Armenia playing Armenian and Middle Eastern traditional instruments. The Ensemble was founded by Levon Eskenian to play ‘ethnographically authentic’ arrangements of the G. I. Gurdjieff/Thomas de Hartmann piano music, then diversely expanding the repertoire to include music by Komitas, music from the Middle East, as well as ancient and medieval Armenian folk and spiritual music, troubadours songs from the Caucasus, and works collected by Bela Bartok as well as compositions by contemporary composers. With Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff the ensemble made its debut for ECM in 2011, garnering widespread critical acclaim, including a review by the Financial Times: “Georges Gurdjieff composed and dictated volumes of piano music. Levon Eskenian’s Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble reclaims these pieces from the salons of Paris and takes them back to their roots in the Caucasus. […] they reveal their origins and themselves.” The album was [...]
The Gurdjieff Ensemble consists of leading musicians from Armenia playing Armenian and Middle Eastern traditional instruments. The Ensemble was founded by Levon Eskenian to play ‘ethnographically authentic’ arrangements of the G. I. Gurdjieff/Thomas de Hartmann piano music, then diversely expanding the repertoire to include music by Komitas, music from the Middle East, as well as ancient and medieval Armenian folk and spiritual music, troubadours songs from the Caucasus, and works collected by Bela Bartok as well as compositions by contemporary composers. With Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff the ensemble made its debut for ECM in 2011, garnering widespread critical acclaim, including a review by the Financial Times: “Georges Gurdjieff composed and dictated volumes of piano music. Levon Eskenian’s Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble reclaims these pieces from the salons of Paris and takes them back to their roots in the Caucasus. […] they reveal their origins and themselves.” The album was also awarded the Dutch Edison award for Best World Music Album. Komitas followed in 2015, with reworkings of works by Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935). In October 2023, the third album by the Gurdjieff Ensemble under Levon Eskenian, titled Zartir, is released. As well as reclaiming the music of esoteric teacher G. I. Gurdjieff for folk instrumentation, the album situates Gurdjieff in a tradition of Armenian bards and troubadours including Ashugh Jivani, Baghdasar Tbir and the legendary Sayat-Nova. In parallel, an emphasis on pieces for sacred dance reaches its apex in The Great Prayer, an entrancing collaboration between the Gurdjieff Ensemble and the National Chamber Choir of Armenia, which draws upon ritual music of multiple faiths.
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| YEAR | DATE | Artist | VENUE | LOCATION | |
| 2025 | April 23 |
The Gurdjieff Ensemble, Levon Eskenian
"Zartir" |
De Bijloke | Gent, Belgium | |
| 2025 | April 25 |
The Gurdjieff Ensemble, Levon Eskenian
"Zartir" |
De Oosterpoort | Groningen, Netherlands |