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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Philip Oltermann European culture editor

‘There’s a certain madness to it’ … fans await new chord in John Cage gig with 616 years left to run

Visitors queue at Halberstadt’s St Burchardi church in September 2020 for the 14th sound change in John Cage’s composition, Organ²/ASLSP As Slow as Possible.
Visitors queue at Halberstadt’s St Burchardi church in September 2020 for the 14th sound change in John Cage’s composition, Organ²/ASLSP. Photograph: Matthias Bein/AP

When Halberstadt’s St Burchardi church opens its doors for a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on Monday, some of the spectators streaming into the 11th-century building will have booked their tickets years in advance and crossed continents to get there. But don’t expect them to demand an encore.

Because if one thing is certain about this concert, it’s that it won’t be over for a long, long time yet.

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