logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
41m 51s

As Slow As Possible

ROMAN MARS
About this episode

When you go to a concert, you might try to get there right when the doors open. Or perhaps you take your time and skip the opening act. But generally, you want to be there when the show starts. In February, everyone who went to a concert in Halberstadt, Germany, showed up 23 years late. The performance is of a piece called ORGAN2/ASLSP. ASLSP stands for “as slow as possible,” which is how the composer meant for it to be played, and this particular day would involve a chord change. The last time ORGAN2/ASLSP had a chord change was in 2022, and this new chord will play until the next change, in August, 2026. There is a change the year after that, and the following year, and so on, until the year 2640. The full performance is meant to last 639 years. Reporter Gabe Bullard travels to Germany to witness the chord change and to discover why such a concert is even happening in the first place.

As Slow As Possible

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and get exclusive access to bonus episodes. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Up next
Today
Ambassador Bridge
A billionaire family’s private bridge empire shaped Detroit for decades, sparking battles over power, neighborhoods, and the future of an international crossing.Ambassador Bridge Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week e ... Show More
40m 13s
Aug 19
All About That Bass
Vintage music barely had any bass. Today’s hits are all about the low end. What changed? An episode this week from our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, featuring hip hop legend DJ Jazzy Jeff and Roland's Paul McCabe.All About That Bass Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen t ... Show More
25m 51s
Aug 12
Sister Aimee and the Birth of the Megachurch
Aimee Semple McPherson built America’s first megachurch, blended showbiz with salvation, and vanished in a scandal that captivated the nation.Sister Aimee and the Birth of the Megachurch Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whol ... Show More
36m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
Corigliano tunes up
Synopsis If you’ve ever attended a live symphony concert, you’re familiar with the routine: before anyone starts playing, before the conductor even steps on stage, the principal oboist sounds an “A” — and the other musicians tune their instruments to that pitch. On today’s date i ... Show More
2 m
Sep 2024
Al Pitrelli Says He Wants Trans-Siberian Orchestra to 'Live Forever'
Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist and musical director Al Pitrelli takes some time to look ahead to the band's upcoming tour. 
19m 8s
Nov 2024
The historically informed Mahler
Synopsis On today’s date in 1910, Gustav Mahler conducted the New York Philharmonic in a concert billed as “the first of a series arranged in chronological sequence, comprising the most famous composers from the period of Bach to the present day.” Mahler’s program included works ... Show More
2 m
Sep 2024
Bernstein takes a chance
Synopsis The Grove Dictionary of Music defines “aleatory” as follows: “music whose composition and/or performance is, to a greater or lesser extent, undetermined by the composer.” But isn’t music supposed to be organized, planned, determined sound? Isn’t “aleatoric music” a contr ... Show More
2 m
Sep 2019
Jan Lisiecki on the Beethoven piano concertos
2020 is Beethoven Year - he was born 250th years ago, in 1770 – and the record industry is lining up a vast number of releases in celebration. Berlin-based Deutsche Grammophon, not surprisingly, is spearheading the campaign with a huge Beethoven Edition and one of the earliest re ... Show More
11m 6s
Jun 2024
Roy Whelden's new music for an old instrument
Synopsis On this date in 1787, an obituary in London’s Morning Post noted the passing two days earlier of Carl Friedrich Abel, 63, a composer, concert impresario and viola da gamba virtuoso. The viola da gamba was the forerunner of the modern cello. Its heyday was in the 17th cen ... Show More
2 m
Nov 2024
Beethoven and Brusa take it slow
Synopsis For later Romantic composers like Richard Wagner, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was “the apotheosis of the dance,” and certainly sitting still during the Symphony’s dizzying finale is not always easy. But for those in the audience at its premiere in 1813, as part of a benef ... Show More
2 m