# The longest sets of solo instrument/chamber ensemble variations ever?



## elgar's ghost

a) by approximate timing

b) by quantity

Not often I start a thread but this has suddenly aroused my curiosity. Thanks in advance for any replies.


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## KenOC

Probably "As Slow as Possible" by John Cage. "The performance of the organ version at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany, began in 2001 and is scheduled to have a duration of 640 years, ending in 2640." (Wiki) It opened with a rest lasting a year and a half.

Could give listeners a case of first-class monkey-butt. But I'm sure there will be an intermission.


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## PetrB

Three sets of solo keyboard variations that come to mind:

J.S. Bach ~ _Goldberg Variations_
Ludwig von Beethoven ~ _Diabelli Variations_
Frederic Rzewski ~ _The People United Will Never Be Defeated!_


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## OlivierM

Another John Cage. 
His incredibly complex, well-deservingly known piece 4"33' was composed for all the instruments ever.
I'd recommend to start the listening with the piano version, then the cello version. And from there, directly to the stars !
:tiphat:


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## Mandryka

elgars ghost said:


> a) by approximate timing
> 
> b) by quantity
> 
> Not often I start a thread but this has suddenly aroused my curiosity. Thanks in advance for any replies.


Sorabji's Symphonic Variations for Piano, the solo piano version.


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## Guest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_non-repetitive_piano_pieces

Sorabji has tons of lengthy works, not limited to solo piano, that I'll probably never hear. Would really like to listen to the full Finnissy cycle soon though...


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## Headphone Hermit

Shostakovich - 24 Preludes and Fugues - 3 CDs

Scarlatti - 555 solo keyboard sonatas


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## PetrB

Headphone Hermit said:


> Shostakovich - 24 Preludes and Fugues - 3 CDs
> 
> Scarlatti - 555 solo keyboard sonatas


Neither are 'sets of variations' to be played as an entirety, no matter how you slice'em.


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## Headphone Hermit

PetrB said:


> Neither are 'sets of variations' to be played as an entirety, no matter how you slice'em.


apologies! Didn't read the thread title carefully - should have gone to bed by the time I posted it


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## mikey

Handel's Gmaj Chaconne has 62 variations with the epic running time of 15 mins.


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## elgar's ghost

Looks like Sorabji's Symphonic Variations for Piano is going to emerge as the clear winner in terms of time, then. Sadly, I'll have to discount the Cage for being far too open-ended time-wise - and was it even in variation form in the first place? Thanks again for the input, everyone.


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## Skilmarilion

KenOC said:


> Probably "As Slow as Possible" by John Cage. "The performance of the organ version at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany ...


I can't think of a more profound waste of time for all involved.


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## ptr

I've told this before, My Swedish odd-ball favourite composer Claude Loyola Allgén was in the process of writing a set of 24 variations on Paganini's 24 Capricci op. 1 when he succumbed to fire when his (slightly derelict) home burned more or less to the ground in 1990 (it is uncertain if it was an accident or arson), Allgén was sort of a Swedish Sorabji.

Of the work "I Cappricci", 10 movements survive, and these where reconstructed from severely burnt hand written sheets; the first variation is 12 pages, the second 35, the third 22, the fourth 19, and so on... One can only guess how long this would have been if the luck of this composer had been different!

A comment on the first movement was that it sounds like "Spike Jones on Speed"!

/ptr


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## OlivierM

I just remembered it, because I saw his live performance early 2011, but there is Anssi Karttunen's recording of Mystery Variations On Giuseppe Colombi's Chiacona. For his 50th birthday, he was offered by quite a few composers 50 variations on this chiacona, to perform live.


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