Longest Concert In History Just Had Its First Chord Change In Seven Years

Back in 2001, a group of people decided to take the tempo direction in John Cage’s 1985 work As Slow As Possible to an extreme and began a performance (of the composer’s 1987 arrangement for organ, Organ²/ASLSP) intended to last 639 years. (Since the score opens with a rest, the first notes didn’t actually begin sounding until early 2003.) On Sept. 5, which would have been Cage’s 108th birthday, performers executed the first chord change since 2013; it was the 14th since the concert began. Catherine Hickey reports on how it was done (and yes, there was a crowd). – The New York Times