# Longest work



## maestro267

What's the longest work in your collection (time-wise)?

For a while, mine was Swan Lake on Naxos (147 mins), but that was exceeded this year by Sargent's Handel Messiah (149 mins).


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## danae

I think you should probably make a distinction between stage music (opera, ballet etc) and other genres. I'm not sure, but I don't think you're gonna find a symphony, a concerto, a song cycle or a tone poem (for instance) which is longer than an opera or a ballet.


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## Chi_townPhilly

Wagner's _Ring Cycle_.



> Of all great musical compositions, _Der Ring das Nibelungen_ is by far the largest. A consecutive performance of its four separate parts would last for some fifteen hours. Deryck Cooke


If not counting this as a single piece (and there are good reasons for not doing so), then that same composer's _Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_, at roughly 4½ hours (*not* counting intermisssions), would be next in line.

It's generally conceded that Mahler's Third Symphony, usually clocking in at over 1:35, is the longest of _standard repertory_ symphonies.

(Not naming names, but...) there are certain even lengthier works, composed by [well, let's be polite here] persons who have remained well outside the purview of common performance...


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## Taneyev

Alistair Hinton (1950-) String quintet with soprano: 165' (3CDs). I confess that I've listened about 15' and couldn't stand it anymore.


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## Scott Good

Chi_town/Philly said:


> there are certain even lengthier works, composed by [well, let's be polite here] persons who have remained well outside the purview of common performance...


I assume you mean this...

Longest Organ Concert in History

The world's longest organ concert is currently being played out in an old church in eastern Germany. If all goes well, the music won't end for another 630 years! The music written by experimental composer John Cage, was originally intended as a 20 minute piece for piano. He transcribed it for organ and titled the piece, Organ2/ASLSP, standing for as slow as possible.
The concert began September 5, 2001 with an 18-month silence. The first chord sounded in February 2003, followed by two additional E notes in July 2004. The first chord just progressed to the second, which will held down by sandbags until 2012. The next change will take place May 6, 2006 when the two E notes will be released.

Since the concert began, thousands of people have flocked to the small church to listen to the music and see the new organ take shape. Organizers hope they can build the organ with the concert by raising money to fund new pipes in time for forthcoming notes.

The composer, John Cage died in 1992, but loved the idea of playing with time, and shocking his audience. The score has been divided into nine sections, each lasting 71 years. If all goes well, the half-time interval will take place in the year 2319, with the finale sounding in 2640. George Bandarau of the John Cage Organ Foundation says, "Here the question is whether the concert is over when the organist dies, or when the organ falls apart."


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## Albert7

Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2 clocks in around 6 hours 7 minutes on the Flux Quartet recording.


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## Guest

Although I have never heard it, I believe the recordings of Brian's "Gothic" Symphony clock in anywhere from 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, which puts it a little longer than Mahler's 3rd, but I understand it isn't exactly part of the standard repertoire.


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## realdealblues

For a single NON-Opera/Vocal work, the longest off the top of my head is probably Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony.


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## Guest

I guess the OP asked for longest works in your collection - I don't have the Brian symphony.

I guess, for me, it would have to be the above-mentioned Wagner Die Meistersinger, if we aren't counting his Ring as a single work. However, after that, it would have to be my Herreweghe recording of the Bach St. Matthew Passion, which takes up 3 discs, and is 2 hours 41 minutes long.


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## Whistler Fred

If you think that Erik Satie really meant "Vexations" to be played 840 times, as did John Cage, the piece would last approximately eighteen hours. There is a recording I know that contains 42 repetitions on one CD, with the recommendation that it be repeated 20 times to fully realize the composer's intention. Assuming, of course, that this was the composer's intention, which I think is more than a little questionable...


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## maestro267

Woah! I saw this topic and came in to suggest something, before realising that I had started it over 5 years ago! My first thought was, have I really been here this long?

I believe the longest purely orchestral work (no symphonies or concerti) is Nicholas Maw's Odyssey, which runs for around 95 minutes without a pause.

And since the first post, the longest work in my collection is now Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, my recording of which is just over 170 minutes.


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## Cosmos

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Wagner's _Ring Cycle_.
> 
> If not counting this as a single piece (and there are good reasons for not doing so), then that same composer's _Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_, at roughly 4½ hours (*not* counting intermisssions), would be next in line.
> 
> It's generally conceded that Mahler's Third Symphony, usually clocking in at over 1:35, is the longest of _standard repertory_ symphonies.
> 
> (Not naming names, but...) there are certain even lengthier works, composed by [well, let's be polite here] persons who have remained well outside the purview of common performance...


Same as you: The Ring Cycle.

In my collection:
Longest stand alone piece [also longest opera] = Wagner's Gotterdammerung, 4hr, 25min
Longest symphony = Brian's first, 1hr, 53min
Longest concerto = Busoni's Piano Concerto in C, 1hr,12min
Longest sonata = Ives' Concord Sonata, 50min


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## maestro267

For solo piano music, may I introduce you to Kaikhosru Sorabji. His 12-movement Opus Clavicembalisticum lasts over 4 hours, the ninth movement alone filling up an entire CD.


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## hpowders

Berlioz' Les Troyens, Wagner's Die Meistersinger and Götterdämerung would give you a nice run for your money.

None should be one's introduction to opera.


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## hpowders

Cosmos said:


> Same as you: The Ring Cycle.
> 
> Longest stand alone piece [also longest opera] = Wagner's Gotterdammerung, 4hr, 25min
> Longest symphony = Brian's first, 1hr, 53min
> Longest concerto = Busoni's Piano Concerto in C, 1hr,12min
> Longest sonata = Ives' Concord Sonata, 50min


Yeah but nobody listens to the Ring at an opera house in totality. It is broken up into 4 separate parts.


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## hpowders

However, the OP states "Orchestral Music". For me Mahler 3 is as long as I'm willing to go!!


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## QuietGuy

The longest work in my collection is Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, 55 minutes (and I love every second of it.)


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## nightscape

St. Matthew Passion is probably the longest single work in my collection.


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## GreenMamba

Excluding the one opera I own on CD (Nixon in China), my longest is Mahler's 2nd (79 minutes).

It appears I don't own any multiple CD single works.


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## joen_cph

The longest single-movement instrumental work in my collection is probably _Pettersson´s 9th Symphony _in the Comissiona recording (80-90 mins), excluding a repeated _Vexations_ of course.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

maestro267 said:


> What's the longest work in your collection (time-wise)?
> 
> For a while, mine was Swan Lake on Naxos (147 mins), but that was exceeded this year by Sargent's Handel Messiah (149 mins).


That seems far too long for Messiah!  the average length for it I'm sure is around 2 hours 15!


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## SixFootScowl

Not longest work but longest performance of that work is this Beethoven's Ninth 
clocking in at 1 hour, 51 minutes, 45 seconds (music starts about 55 seconds in):


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Florestan said:


> Not longest work but longest performance of that work is this Beethoven's Ninth
> clocking in at 1 hour, 51 minutes, 45 seconds (music starts about 55 seconds in):


Ewwwwww that's disgusting!


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## KenOC

There was (is?) a version of Beethoven's 9th playing on the internet stretched to 24 hours. It was (is?) playing continuously. Hard to tell where you are in the work.


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## techniquest

The longest symphony in my collection is Brians' 1st followed by Mahler 3. The longest single orchestral work is Tchaikovsky "Sleeping Beauty" running to 155 minutes.
According to the Guiness Book of Records, the longest ever symphonic work is a piece called "Victory at Sea" composed for a documentary TV series of the same name which runs to some 13 hours. The longest actual symphony is apparantly the Symphony No.2 'Jami' by Sorabji. Never performed orchestrally, it has been recorded electronically (midi).

By the way, that lengthy (and dreadful) performance of Beethoven's 9th mentioned above is discussed at some length in this thread: http://www.talkclassical.com/34265-worst-symphony-recordings.html


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## Manxfeeder

The longest work in my collection is Feldman's second string quartet. I've actually heard it twice. 

Longest orchestral, Brian's Gothic Symphony. You'd think Morton Feldman would be in there, but I guess he didn't write long pieces for orchestras. Probably because of all that overtime.


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## Francis Poulenc

Mahler 3 may be long, but it is such a great and transcendental symphony that one only wishes it would never end. The longest symphony in the repertoire also happens to be among the most sublime music ever written.


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## ahinton

Taneyev said:


> Alistair Hinton String quintet with soprano: 165' (3CDs). I confess that I've listened about 15' and couldn't stand it anymore.


Thank you so much!


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## Judith

I think the longest I have is Symphony no 7 "Leningrad" composed by Shostakovich. It is nearly 80 minutes long.


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## ahinton

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Wagner's _Ring Cycle_.


You don't have _Licht_, then?



Chi_townPhilly said:


> (Not naming names, but...) there are certain even lengthier works, composed by [well, let's be polite here] persons who have remained well outside the purview of common performance...


For that statement to convey any meaning, I think that it would need to name names, whether or not people might agree on them! Perhaps you might care to elucidate.

Anyway, the longest work in my collection of recorded performances (although not in the form of a commercially available recording, as none has yet been made) is Sorabji's Organ Symphony No. 2, as played in its entirety for the first time by Kevin Bowyer in Glasgow University Memorial Chapel in June 2010. The work has three movements whose respective durations on that occasion were approximately 85', 270' and 185', although some 15 minutes were shaved off this overall 9 hour duration when he played it later the same month in that year's Holland Festival and he believes that it can be taken down to around 8 hours maximum. Even at this length, however, it is by far the longest symphony that I have heard and it contains one of the longest single continuous movements of which I am aware.


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## Pugg

Must be Tristan and Isolde conducted by Bernstein.


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## Azol

Pugg said:


> Must be Tristan and Isolde conducted by Bernstein.


4 hr 26 min to be exact. :tiphat:


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## Pugg

Azol said:


> 4 hr 26 min to be exact. :tiphat:


If you mean: 266.14 minutes than we talking about the same recording.


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## helenora

deleted. wrong thread


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## lextune

I have a few recordings of Sorabji's Opus clavicembalisticum, they are about 4 hours each. Sorabji also wrote a set of Symphonic Variations for Piano that push 9 hours. I do believe it has been recorded.


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## ahinton

lextune said:


> I have a few recordings of Sorabji's Opus clavicembalisticum, they are about 4 hours each. Sorabji also wrote a set of Symphonic Variations for Piano that push 9 hours. I do believe it has been recorded.


No, sadly, the Symphonic Variations has not yet been recorded and a performance of it will not in any case be possible to prepare until a proper typeset edition of it has been made; one is currently in preparation, however, and is anticipate by some time in 2018. The longest Sorabji works to be performed to date are the Second Organ Symphony (9 hours but will likely be reduced considerably for future performances, of which one is scheduled for Iowa, US, next February) and Sequentia Cyclica super _Dies Iræ_ for piano which received its world première in the same month as did the Second Organ Symphony. The organist concerned is Kevin Bowyer and the pianist Jonathan Powell. Sequentia Cyclica has been typeset and Jonathan Powell has now recorded it; it's in the editing stages and will hopefully be out some time next year. Another massive Sorabji project that's been under way for some years is pianist Fredrik Ullén's traversal of the composer's 100 Transcendental Studies,m of which the first 5 CDs are out and the last two anticipated before the end of next year. Two other Sorabji works marginally longer than _Opus Clavicembalisticum_ that have been performed are the fourth and sixth piano symphonies (respectively by Reinier van Houdt and Jonathan Powell); the former has been broadcast but neither has yet been commercially recorded.

For more information, please visit www.sorabji-archive/co.uk ; enquiries welcome at [email protected] .


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## hpowders

Parsifal and Götterdämmerung, both by Wagner.


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## Pugg

Canto Ostinato from composer Simeon ten Holt can be played as long as 6 hours.


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## Border Collie

I think the longest orchestral works I have are the Maw and couple of versions of the Gothic by Havergal Brian. Both fantastic works but you have to put aside a fair bit of time for the listening!


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## Guest

Sorabji's "Opus Clavicem Balisticum" for solo piano, which lasts for some 4+ hours. I listen to it once a year. Jonathan Powell has recently recorded Sorabji's 7-hour "Sequentia Cycilca sopra Dies Irae ex missa pro defunctis", so that will supercede "O.C." when I purchase it!

(Yes, I'm aware neither is an orchestral piece, but they easily could be due to the extravagantly dense music!)


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## lextune

ahinton said:


> No, sadly, the Symphonic Variations has not yet been recorded and a performance of it will not in any case be possible to prepare until a proper typeset edition of it has been made; one is currently in preparation, however, and is anticipate by some time in 2018. The longest Sorabji works to be performed to date are the Second Organ Symphony (9 hours but will likely be reduced considerably for future performances, of which one is scheduled for Iowa, US, next February) and Sequentia Cyclica super _Dies Iræ_ for piano which received its world première in the same month as did the Second Organ Symphony. The organist concerned is Kevin Bowyer and the pianist Jonathan Powell. Sequentia Cyclica has been typeset and Jonathan Powell has now recorded it; it's in the editing stages and will hopefully be out some time next year. Another massive Sorabji project that's been under way for some years is pianist Fredrik Ullén's traversal of the composer's 100 Transcendental Studies,m of which the first 5 CDs are out and the last two anticipated before the end of next year. Two other Sorabji works marginally longer than _Opus Clavicembalisticum_ that have been performed are the fourth and sixth piano symphonies (respectively by Reinier van Houdt and Jonathan Powell); the former has been broadcast but neither has yet been commercially recorded.
> 
> For more information, please visit www.sorabji-archive/co.uk ; enquiries welcome at [email protected] .


Thanks for the great reply. I have several Sorabji recordings from both Powell and Ullen. Is this the composer Alistair Hinton himself?


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## ahinton

lextune said:


> Thanks for the great reply. I have several Sorabji recordings from both Powell and Ullen. Is this the composer Alistair Hinton himself?


Guilty as charged, m'lud!


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## lextune

ahinton said:


> Guilty as charged, m'lud!


Well, it is very nice to correspond with you like this.


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## SONNET CLV

Albert7 said:


> Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2 clocks in around 6 hours 7 minutes on the Flux Quartet recording.


I have the FLUX recording of this (on mode 112 - 5 CDs or one DVD), and I'm still waiting to be able to listen to it ... to fit it in as an intermission piece, perhaps, during my regular evening listening session. Just can't get to it. Alas....


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## maestro267

I bought a recording of Strauss' opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Solti) this year which is 195 minutes long, a new record for my collection.


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## DeepR

Longest non-classical music I know of are the obscure Tegos Tapes by Vangelis. 12 hours of ambient background music for neurosurgery instructional videos. Lol.


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