George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Greek-Armenian mystic, writer, and composer, was active in his work in the early 20th century. As part of his work as a mystic, he incorporated spiritual dance. To accompany these dances, he composed piano works along with the help of his "spiritual disciple", Thomas de Hartmann. These pieces were written during what is referred to as his “second period.” Award winning pianist Frederic Chiu plays these works giftedly.