As Slow As Possible

As Slow As Possible (ASLSP) is a musical piece composed by John Cage. It was originally written in 1985 for piano; a typical performance of the piano piece lasts for about 20 minutes.

Related Topics:
John Cage - 1985 - Piano

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1987 Cage reworked the piece for organ. A 1997 conference of musicians and philosophers discussed the implications of his instruction to play the piece "as slow as possible", given that an organ imposes virtually no time limits. A project emerged to perform the piece so that it would take a total of 639 years to play. The origin of this number is as follows: the piece was to be performed in the St. Burchadi church in Halberstadt, Germany, beginning in the year 2000; 639 years earlier, in the year 1361, the first big organ had been constructed in that church.

Related Topics:
1987 - Organ - 1997 - Halberstadt - Germany - 2000 - 1361

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The actual performance commenced in the St. Burchadi church on September 5, 2001 with a pause lasting until February 5, 2003. The first chord was played from then until July 5, 2004. The performance is planned to continue until September 4, 2640.

Related Topics:
September 5 - 2001 - February 5 - 2003 - July 5 - 2004 - September 4 - 2640

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~