Longest string quartets?

Longplayer by Jem Finer (1000 years) :

Longplayer is a one thousand year long musical composition. It began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again.

Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it was originally produced as an Artangel commission, and is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust.

Longplayer is composed in such a way that the character of its music changes from day to day and – though it is beyond the reach of any one person’s experience – from century to century. It works in a way somewhat akin to a system of planets, which are aligned only once every thousand years, and whose orbits meanwhile move in and out of phase with each other in constantly shifting configurations. In a similar way, Longplayer is predetermined from beginning to end – its movements are calculable, but are occurring on a scale so vast as to be all but unknowable.

ORGAN2 / ASLSP (As Slow As Possible) by John Cage (639 years)

The slowest and longest piece of music in the world

John-Cage-Organ-Project in Halberstadt, Germany

Since September 5, 2000, which is the 88th birthday of the avantgarde composer and artist John Cage, the slowest and longest concert that the world has ever heard has been playing: ORGAN2/ASLSP As Slow aS Possible that means this piece of music, for the organ, will be performed for 639 years in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt.

Deutsche Welle, July 5th, 2008

One Thousand Hear Change of Note in World’s Longest Concert

The next musical change in John Cage’s slow masterpiece will happen in November

More than 1,000 music-lovers showed up on Saturday, July 5, in a German town to hear a change of note in the longest-running and slowest piece of music ever composed. Eccentric US composer John Cage (1912-1992) planned his composition to last 639 years, meaning more than a dozen generations of musicians will be needed to play it on an automatic, as-yet unfinished organ at Halberstadt, Germany.

Entitled ORGAN2/ASLSP, it began in 2001 and has so far reached its sixth note. The second part of the name means "as slow as possible."

Morton Feldman String Quartet 2

Swan Lake Winter's 2nd Movement by Vivaldi Handel's Water Music Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart Canon in D Pachalbel Bach Air on G String Good Luck(:

I am now listening to Dvorak's String Quartet No.3 and amazed by its large scale structure (69'42, played by Prager String Quartet, DG, 1977). I can't imagine anyone playing Feldman's! Is there any?

You already have the big ones that come to mind. The next closest things that I have in my collection:

Ferneyhough Sonatas for String Quartet clock in at about 41 minutes

Schubert quartet in D is 40 minutes

Grieg string quartet is about 38 minutes

I am afraid the longest symphony must be by the composer Sorabji, symphony no 3 the jami symphony lasts over 4 hours(one movement alone lasts 2 hours) and hasn't been performed by an orchestra but can be downloaded as a virtual rendition for free here(all the downloads are legal as well). I suspect he composed the largest of many things. No doubt he composed the most difficult pieces for piano ever written and possibly just some of the most complex music ever written.

http://www.sorabji-files.com/music.php

By the way, Sorabji is a very interesting composer, I have listened through his opus clav a piano piece that is 4-5 hours a few times. I have no great understanding of modern music yet, so I wouldn't dare judge whether he is a great composer or not myself. He is sometimes referred to as a cult composer because the people who like him generally REALLY like him, sort of like glass fanatics except I suspect that Sorabji might actually be deserving of such devotion with his 40 minute fugues and giant sets of variations.

I know sorabji also composed an organ symphony(no 2) for solo organ which is supposed to last 9 hours and is in the process of being recorded/performed now by kevin bowyer. I am not aware of the lengths of his piano concertos but with sorabji it can be safely assumed that they are as long as the majority of his works. I know alistair hinton, a composer who is still alive today and was friends with sorabji composed a 3 hour string quintet which I, to my sorrow, have not yet purchased or heard, but I don't know of any string quartets that challenge feldman in any way.

Well, anyway, hope I wasn't too off-topic there have a nice day.

There is the "Goldberg Variations" by Bach, piano solo, as arranged for strings by Sitkovetsky years ago, and this has been expanded to include various combinations of string groups so perhaps it can be included. There are more and more CDs of fine performances, see:

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Goldberg-Variations-Tra...

A String Quartet that last "around" 5 hrs.? Had no idea !!!!!!!

And to think, many criticize Wagner for being 'long-winded'. "Rienzi" his longest opera - 5 acts, with intermissions - lasts for over 6 hrs.

Just curious "del_icio...", but do you happen to know what the longest symphony and concerto are?

Very interesting question - thanks,

Alberich

Edit I: many thanks "del_icio...". You and Ryan should........"get together"?