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9 Beet Stretch

A 24-hour listening experience

February 2–3, 2018
6:00 PM–6:00 PM

With its stirring orchestral arrangement and the “Ode to Joy” vocal chorus, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has captivated audiences for centuries. In order to explore the choral suspensions, progressions, and movements, artist Leif Inge created a new way to hear this famous symphony. In his radical 9 Beet Stretch, Inge takes the normally one-hour-long piece and stretches it over twenty-four hours, without pitch distortions, turning it into a mesmerizing listening experience. It is a haunting meditation on time. If you take the time.

“A daylong Ninth effects an outright metabolic shift in the process of listening. It operates, in other words, like a drug. Because every quarter note takes forever, one’s sense of time and music is altered. A chord will swell so gradually that it becomes a tremendous event. Fortissimo does not mean loud in 9 Beet Stretch, it means a roar.” —Mark Swed, LA Times

 


Program Guide

Movement 1: 6:00 PM”“11:30 PM (5½ hours)

Movement 2: 11:30 PM”“4:30 AM (5 hours)

Movement 3: 4:30 AM”“9:30 AM (5 hours)

Movement 4: 9:30 AM- 6:00 PM (8½ hours)

 


What to Expect

Tickets grant you access to the theater, an intimate space dedicated to listening. Both chairs and open floor space for seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in bringing a small cushion, yoga mat, or blanket for your listening experience, you may. We will have a limited number of cushions on hand. Larger items, such as bean bags or air mattresses, will not be allowed. Please be courteous to your fellow listeners: Talk and use cell phones outside the theater.

To get a sense of 9 Beet Stretch without a ticket, preview it in the K2 Lounge on the evening of Friday, February 2, or throughout the day in Café Serai on Saturday, February 3.

Neuroscience students from C-Lab under the supervision of neuroscientist and lab leader Moran Cerf will be on hand during the event to test your perception of time before and after experiencing 9 Beet Stretch. Through the use of time-based computer games and an EEG headset, learn how your brain perceives time differently. Two hours minimum of listening to 9 Beet Stretch are required to participate.

The galleries and Café will only be open during normal Museum hours (11:00 AM”“10:00 PM on Friday, 11:00 AM”“6:00 PM on Saturday).

Please feel free to bring nonperishable snacks if you are listening while the Café is closed. You may consume these in the Café or the Art Lounge outside the theater.

 

Brainwave is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

 

About the Artist


Leif Inge is a sound artist based in Norway. He studied at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Arts, Norway, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. 9 Beet Stretch is his major work, initially realized in 2002 at the Norwegian Network for Technology, Acoustics and Music. The concert premiere took place in 2004 at Kupfer Ironworks in Madison under the production of Jeff Hunt of Table of the Elements. 9 Beet Stretch is available online in a number of audio formats, including a twenty-four-hours-a-day webcast.

Overnight ticket (Movements 1–3): 6:00 PM­–9:30 AM, $25

Daytime ticket (Movement 4): 9:30 AM–6:00 PM, $25

 

Member Tickets are $22.50.

 

Please Note: There is no re-entry to the Museum between 12:00 AM and 7:00 AM. Outside of these hours, you may enter and exit the space as you wish during your allotted time period.



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