The Man Who Saved the Music continued

During this time he turned his attention to the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music. This great body of piano music was played by the Russian composer and pianist Thomas de Hartmann (recordings of his playing were made in the 50s).  Previously, recordings were made of Gurdjieff improvising on the harmonium. Neither the piano music nor the improvisations were recorded with any public release in mind. Tom Forman, however, viewed this music in another light.
He must have envisioned the music being scattered and eventually lost.  So he began to collect and edit the tapes. This was an enormous project continuing for several years. He worked on the recordings both in his apartment and at the Gurdjieff Foundation. At the Foundation the machines were unconnected and put away daily. Next day, the electrical and acoustical connections had to be made all over again. To save time, he asked a pupil to make a cabinet on wheels so that each time he used the equipment, the wire connections were kept in place, hanging like spaghetti from the back. He pulled that cabinet in and out of the closet so many times and had such a collection of tapes, that to this day it is still called “Mr. Forman’s Closet.”
With regard to the music, he wished to include other pieces but de Hartmann had made mistakes while playing and the pieces had to be eliminated. He also said that the order of the pieces was extremely important and worked closely with Mme. de Salzmann (head of the Work at that time) to determine the best sequence. In time, this music came out as commercial recordings. In the liner notes, thanks are given to the recording studio and the engineer, but the years of work during which Tom Forman prepared these tapes go unmentioned. He never sought nor wanted public acknowledgment or praise. The reward, for him, was the work itself. Its’ really interesting that of the many people who worked with Gurdjieff, it was Tom Forman who saved this great body of music from falling through the cracks. Interesting because this project, which needed very careful listening, was accomplished by a man who was almost deaf.  He suffered from severe hearing loss since early childhood.
We may imagine that great things are accomplished in great ways. Perhaps that’s true, but perhaps ordinary things done well to their conclusion can become extraordinary. Tom used to say “If you don’t do it, it’s not going to be done.”
Tom Forman touched many people’s lives. I owe him a particular debt. Recently I was very ill and, as we found out later, my condition was misdiagnosed. When Tom heard of my illness, he did a rather strange thing. He asked a mutual friend, a physician, to come to my home and take charge. My only thought at the time was “He’s 91 and ill - why is he spending his energy on me?” - a thought that brought tears to my eyes. However, his quick alert action brought to light my real condition.  The doctor he sent saved my life.  When I called him to tell him of my improvement - joy could be heard in his voice. He died three weeks later.    

                    Those who are

                    remember now

                    how near, how far

                    that farther star. (Poem by Mr. Forman)                                

This article, by "A Pupil," was originally published in The Gurdjieff Journal (then called "Telos'') Arete Communications, Vol. 7 Issue 2, p. 19. 

Photo Credit: Robert Armagno.           Learn more about the music