De Hartmann's search for new compositional techniques was influenced by painter Wassily Kandinsky, who believed in finding equivalents for musical pitches in the color spectrum.
Composer Biography
De Hartmann composed fifty-three film scores under the pseudonym Thomas Kross or Thomas Kross-Hartmann, primarily for Synchro-Cine in Paris.
Composition History
Between 1920 and 1931, de Hartmann composed over 200 pieces in collaboration with Gurdjieff, known as the 'Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music,' which are solo piano pieces for listening and meditation.
Composer Biography
De Hartmann's four-act ballet, La Fleurette Rouge, was performed in 1906 in Moscow and St. Petersburg with famous dancers Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, and Michel Fokine.
Historical Context
Tsar Nicolas II, who attended La Fleurette Rouge, allowed de Hartmann to defer military service to pursue a full-time music career.
Composer Biography
De Hartmann's life was profoundly affected in 1916 when he met George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, a nomadic Georgian mystic, and became his accompanist and composer-in-residence for twelve years.
Composer Biography
Thomas de Hartmann, born in Ukraine to Russian aristocrats, showed musical talent before age five and began formal training at age eleven.
