The Gurdjieff Quartet

The Gurdjieff Quartet performs music inspired by the life and travels of G.I. Gurdjieff - the man who walked on stilts through the desert to see above sandstorms, painted a blackbird to sell it as a tropical bird, and crossed the world in search of truth.

During his journeys through the Caucasus, Asia and Africa, Gurdjieff collected a wide variety of music: spiritual songs, chants and ancient folk music. Around 1920, he and composer Thomas de Hartmann notated hundreds of these melodies in piano collections. Ibo and Rani created new arrangements of these for the quartet. The programme takes you through Paris, Armenia and Syria, across the desert and beyond.

The Gurdjieff Quartet consists of:
Ibo Bakker - guitar, mandolin, narrator
Merel Jonker - violin
Rani Kumar - viola, arrangements
Maaike Peters - cello