Dr. Yim plays Eric Satie’s “Vexations” a total of 840 times.
In a remarkable feat of human dedication and endurance, Graceland University’s Dr. Chee Weng Yim did a non-stop piano performance that lasted 27 hours and 22 minutes.
Shaw Center Lobby, Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa.
A grand piano was set up in the lobby of the Shaw Center and Dr. Yim began playing at 6 pm, Monday, November 12. He played the legendary avant-garde composer Eric Satie’s “Vexations†a total of 840 times.
Digital metronome set to silent mode.
Yim had a silent digital metronome on the piano to keep him on pace. You don’t want an audible “click click click” during a live performance. In silent mode, a digital hand swings back and forth on the screen of the metronome.
Dr. Yim taps a digital counter on a smart phone.
He tapped a digital counter on a smart phone each time he reached the end of the piece to keep track of his progress, and immediately began playing again.
Music on a tablet and digital counter on a smart phone.
When I took this photo at 7:49 pm, Tuesday, November 13, Dr. Yim had played Vexations 777 times. I timed him for about 40 minutes. He was averaging close to 1 minute, 31 seconds to play the piece once, tap the counter and start over again.
Information page on the left. The music for Vexations is on the right.
Why play this piece 840 times? Blame Satie. He wrote: “In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities.†Some people are uncertain if Satie really meant the piece was literally to be played 840 times. Part of me wonders if Satie was just pulling everyone’s leg, that the real “vexation” was playing this piece 840 times. There is no record of Satie playing it 840 times in public.
The first public “840 times” marathon performance was in 1963 (decades after Satie’s death) and it involved multiple pianists taking turns. Most marathon performances involve a group of pianists. If you have 10 pianists, each one only needs to play the piece 84 times at only 2 1/2 to 3 hours per pianist.
For obvious reasons, it is rare for a single pianist to take on the task of playing “Vexations” 840 times. I suppose this is the musical equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen. You do it because the challenge is there.
I was surprised at the amount of electronics and computer gear that was involved in the performance.
For those who couldn’t see the performance live, a video camera was set up to live stream the event.
People were invited to come and go as they wished throughout Dr. Yim’s performance.
Dr. Yim, Graceland University.
The performance was scheduled to end someone where around 10 pm, Tuesday, November 13, give or take 15 to 20 minutes. He actually finished at 9:22 pm.
Dr. Yim did not stop once during the entire 27 hour, 22 minute performance, not even to stand up and stretch. How do you go that long without a restroom break? You go through a two week fasting regimen, and you dry your self out for 48 hours prior to the beginning of the performance, drinking no liquids. Just sitting for nearly 27 and a half hours is an ordeal, not to mention the demands on the arms and hands of playing that long. This is very demanding on the human body. Think of the muscle fatigue. Dr. Yim’s arms were trembling a bit after the performance.
There was a celebration and time to chat with Dr. Yim after the performance.
The whole thing was an amazing musical and physical accomplishment, the kind of thing you rarely get to see.
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