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Gurdjieff Ensemble
The internationally acclaimed 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 that now includes 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 and compositions by contemporary composers. Their “Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff” debut album and “Komitas” album on the famous ECM records were widely acclaimed and won prestigious awards including the Edison Award in the Netherlands. The ensemble has been touring in nearly 150 cities in 26 countries in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, North, and South America, among which are sold-out performances at the Holland Festival, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Boulez hall in Berlin, the Bozar Center in Brussels, the Morgenland and Rudolstadt festivals in Germany, the Gulbenkian Hall in Lisbon, the Budapest Spring festival in Hungary, the Sala São Paulo in Brazil, the Albert Hall in Canberra, the Chicago World music festival in the USA and many more.
Gurdjieff Ensemble
Levon Eskenian – arranger, artistic director/ Emmanuel Hovhannisyan – duduk, zourna, pku/ Avag Margaryan – blul, zourna/ Armen Ayvazyan – kamancha/ Aram Nikoghosyan – oud/ Meri Vardanyan – kanon/ Vladimir Papikyan – santur, voice/ Davit Avagyan – tar, saz/ Mesrop Khalatyan – dap, dhol/ Norayr Gapoyan – duduk/ Eduard Harutyunyan – tmbouk, cymbals, bell
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Levon Eskenian: Giving Voice to the Sacred Lineage of Armenian Music
by Nenad Georgievski
It is not often you come across a musician whose work feels like a bridge--between cultures, centuries, and inner worlds. Levon Eskenian, the Armenian musician and artistic director behind the Gurdjieff Ensemble, is one of those rare figures. Through his thoughtful arrangements and deep cultural understanding, he has led the Ensemble in reimagining the music of Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff and Komitas--not as museum pieces, but as living, breathing works that still resonate today. Over the past decade and a half, ...
Continue ReadingThe Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble: Komitas
by Nenad Georgievski
When Armenian arranger and composer Levon Eskenian took on to reimagine the music of Armenian mystic and philosopher Gurdjieff for the Gurdjieff Ensemble's debut record on ECM, he touched upon the wealth of melodies that Gurdjieff initially heard and was inspired by during the travels he undertook during his lifetime through the Caucasus, the Near East and Central Asia, and eventually were hummed to pianist Thomas de Hartmann. And it was Eskenian's fertile imagination, deep knowledge and understanding of both ...
Continue ReadingThe Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble / Levon Eskenian: Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff
by Nenad Georgievski
Philosopher, traveler, mystic, spiritual adventurer, teacher, musician and a fervent seeker of esoteric knowledge, G. I. Gurdjieff and his legacy are still of interest to many. His early years shrouded in mystery, he wandered through Central Asia and Middle East while still a young man, absorbing the spiritual and philosophical ideas of the religions he encountered, before making his way to the west, where he began formulating a synthesis (The Forth Way) of what he had learned using a series ...
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Gurdjieff Ensemble
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
Formed: 2008
