Short pieces?

[Dave2002]

What's the shortest length of any significant/meaningful music? Of course there is a piece by Chopin which is often called (mistakenly?) the minute waltz - which actually typically lasts a bit more than 2 minutes. Recently I posted a Youtube video of several composers who had produced new pieces - each around 1 minute in length, though one minute does seem rather short.

In Mikrokosmos Bartók wrote some pieces which last less than one minute in performance, and I think some individual dances in his Rumanian dances are pretty short.

[Pulcinella]

Many of Ned Rorem's songs are short, 1–2 minutes.
Here's a selection:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7950646--american-classics-ned-rorem-selected-songs

I guess that he'd consider them to be stand-alone pieces, since they are not part of any cycle.

The shortest on this disc, a Gertrude Stein setting, clocks in at just 21 seconds; there's a Whitman setting at 25 seconds too.

[french frank]

Das Donnerwetter K534 comes in at 48" on the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra version.

[gurnemanz]

In Mikrokosmos Bartók wrote some pieces which last less than one minute in performance, and I think some individual dances in his Rumanian dances are pretty short.

Looked at Bartók Solo Piano Music with Zoltán Kocsis. On 8CDs there are many very short items. Shortest seems to be: No 9 of Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs at 13 seconds.

[Richard Barrett]

I believe the shortest piece ever released on CD is in fact the shortest duration that will fit on a CD, 1 sample or 1/44100 seconds, which is the duration of a composition entitled "bop" by JLIAT (James Whitehead). You can listen to it here if you have a spare moment.

[Dave2002]

I believe the shortest piece ever released on CD is in fact the shortest duration that will fit on a CD, 1 sample or 1/44100 seconds, which is the duration of a composition entitled "bop" by JLIAT (James Whitehead). You can listen to it here if you have a spare moment.

Should have used Hi Res digital to get it at 1/384,000 seconds.

[Dave2002]

Troyte - Enigma Variations - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ4zGoSf7vY About 55 seconds

Is this the shortest of these variations? Not sure. Actually I think HDSP may be shorter. The shortest is probably WMB - which could be under 30 seconds. GRS is also under a minute.

See (for example) the back view of Petrenko's RLPO recording on a site such as am.uk.

[rauschwerk]

Beethoven's Bagatelle Op 119/10 is over in just nine seconds.

[Dave2002]

Beethoven's Bagatelle Op 119/10 is over in just nine seconds.

Wow - that is short.

Not sure that this is the best representation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbc-bwYcBdU but it is short.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Kurtag might just be the lad for brevity. Jatekok pieces are commonly under a minute: 23 out of the 28 tracks on one CD I own, Scherzo (III/9) winning at 15 seconds. Webern must also be in the running but I don't have time to check timings now: daughter II's 19th

[Dave2002]

Here is one of the longer Kurtag pieces - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh8vskF1k5c Interesting!

Here are some more - the first is quite short - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ECfycXRo1A

[gradus]

Schumann Im wunderschonen Monat Mai not much over a minute and a half - just one page of music.

[gurnemanz]

Schumann Im wunderschonen Monat Mai not much over a minute and a half - just one page of music.

I think Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne also from Dichterliebe is the shortest Schumann song at about 30 secs

[Dave2002]

Schumann Im wunderschonen Monat Mai not much over a minute and a half - just one page of music.

Good spot - http://ks.imslp.info/files/imglnks/u...2745-RS131.pdf

[Pulcinella]

Kurtag might just be the lad for brevity. Jatekok pieces are commonly under a minute: 23 out of the 28 tracks on one CD I own, Scherzo (III/9) winning at 15 seconds. Webern must also be in the running but I don't have time to check timings now: daughter II's 19th

Nothing as short as 15" in the Sony Boulez Complete Works box that I could spot.
Some songs or movements within cycles/works are very short (for example, the second in the Op 3 Five songs clocks in at 33"), but I'm not sure that they should count compared to stand-alone pieces.