Durational performance is work in which length itself becomes the material: pieces lasting many hours or longer, where endurance, attention and the passing of time shape the experience for performers and audience alike. In music an early landmark came in September 1963, when John Cage presented a complete performance of Erik Satie’s Vexations at the Pocket Theatre in New York. A relay of ten pianists, among them John Cale, played its short theme the 840 times indicated in the score, over 18 hours and 40 minutes; patrons received a small refund for every twenty minutes they stayed.
The approach runs through drone history, from the hours-long performances of La Monte Young to Max Richter’s Sleep, an eight-hour work whose premiere was broadcast live by BBC Radio 3 on 27 September 2015 and set two Guinness World Records for broadcast length. In such works the listener is not expected to follow every moment; drifting attention, sleep and return become part of the form.