Summer Listening Session – From Venice’s Minor Keys to a 639-Year Organ Piece

Summer Listening Session – From Venice's Minor Keys to a 639-Year Organ Piece

Welcome to a special summer listening session of The Power of Music Thinking. In this special episode, host Christof Zürn takes us on an immersive sonic journey across Europe, exploring how deep, mindful listening can change how we perceive art, space, time, – and our daily work.

Pack your headphones and join us as we travel through three incredible sonic landmarks. From Venice in Italy, via Weil am Rhein (Germany) to Halberstadt (2,5 hours from Berlin), join us on a virtual sonic tour through the summer.

Listen now to: Summer Listening Session – From Venice’s Minor Keys to a 639-Year Organ Piece

You can also listen to it on Substack, Spotify, Apple, and YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Stop 1: Venice, Italy – Tuning into the “In Minor Keys” Biennale

Our journey begins in the unique, car-free soundscape of Venice, where the gentle lap of water and the hum of pedestrian lanes replace the noise of city traffic.

This year, the 61st Art Biennale is curated under a deeply resonant theme: “In Minor Keys”. Conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh, the exhibition serves as an invitation to listen to the persistent, subtle signals of earth and life that we normally overhear.

Christof shares field recordings and reflections from a series of highly acoustic national pavilions:

  • The Belgian Pavilion: Miet Warlop’s “It never SST”, where automatic drumsticks strike plaster-cast cymbals, scattering fragments in a rhythmic performance.
  • The Finnish Pavilion: Jenna Sutela’s “aeolian suite”, which translates data-driven weather-forecasting models into physical wind sounds using an outdoor aeolian harp.
  • The Romanian Pavilion: “Black Seas – Scores for the Sonic Eye”, featuring nautical buoys transformed into sound-producing sculptural instruments.
  • The Polish Pavilion: “Liquid Tongues” by Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski, which features a synchronized choir of Deaf and hearing singers communicating underwater, demonstrating the powerful concept of Deaf Gain.

Highlight of Venice: The Vatican Pavilion

We dive deep into the Giardino Mistico dei Carmelitani Scalzi – a 16th-century monastic garden usually closed to the public. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers, with artistic direction by Soundwalk Collective, the pavilion is titled “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul”.

Using futuristic spatial headphones, visitors walk through medicinal herbs and orchards while moving through an evolving, real-time audio experience inspired by the 12th-century scores of mystic Hildegard von Bingen. The continuous sonic prayer features collaborations from Terry Riley, Brian Eno, Patti Smith, Laraaji, and AI-collaborators Herndon & Dryhurst, seamlessly blending with the physical environment.

Stop 2: Weil am Rhein, Germany – The Doshi Retreat at Vitra Campus

Next, we travel to the Swiss-German border to test a new binaural microphone setup at the world-famous Vitra Campus.

We step inside the Doshi Retreat, a contemplative space designed by Pritzker Prize winner Balkrishna Doshi, inspired by a dream of two intertwining cobras. Here, a subtle audio system embedded in the ground diffuses gong and ceramic flute music. It creates a physical, sensory journey where sound resonates through the body, blurring the boundary between self and structure.

Stop 3: Halberstadt, Germany – Time as an Infinite Canvas

We conclude our journey with a virtual trip to the Burchardi Church in Halberstadt to explore John Cage’s spectacular, ultra-long-term composition Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible).

First written in 1987, this organ piece is being performed continuously for 639 years, meaning it will not conclude until the year 2640. Because of this extreme time stretch, chord changes happen years apart – utilizing sandbags on the keys and newly installed pipes.

Christof shares historical recordings of former chord changes, and reflects on his own experiences performing John Cage’s silent masterpiece, 4’33”, both in corporate workshops and solo as a Creative Director for his team.

The Quiet Reflection: What are your “Minor Keys”?

As we step back from this virtual sonic journey, Christof leaves us with a set of powerful reflective questions for our teams, our organisations, and our personal lives:

  • In an era dominated by speed, efficiency, and AI, how can we make space for effective, slow contemplation?
  • What are the “minor keys” – the voices, signals, and spaces in between – that need closer listening or amplification in your team?

Show Notes & Links

Chapter marks

00:00:00.000 Opening sounds
00:00:46.000 Intro Music Thinking
00:02:03.000 The Sounds of Venice
00:03:35.000 Biennale di Venezia
00:04:44.000 In Minor Keys – Koyo Kuoho
00:06:23.000 Music Thinking
00:07:33.000 Belgium
00:08:38.000 Finland
00:10:36.000 Romania
00:11:57.000 Poland
00:14:14.000 Reflection
00:15:35.000 Giardino Mistico
00:20:55.000 Precious Okoyomon
00:23:22.000 More Biennale
00:25:25.000 benefits – Music Thinking
00:26:49.000 Balkrishna Doshi Vitra Campus
00:33:16.000 Halberstadt
00:34:33.000 John Cage
00:35:38.000 Using 4’33” in a Workshop
00:37:44.000 Organ2/ASLSP
00:41:58.000 Reflecting Exercise
00:44:37.000 Before we go