Music marathon in Brighton

Event organiser Adam Swayne, of the University of Chichester, who will be among the performers, said: “Thirty-five professional and amateur pianists will play the entire 840 repetitions of Erik Satie’s Vexations in a concert starting at 7.30pm on August 26 and continuing without a break until 4.30pm the next day.

“The performance will be accompanied by a live tweetalong from the @TheVexator account, and the performers are seeking sponsorship via www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/piano-restoration.”

Adam explained: “Our beloved Steinway is going to piano hospital for a few months, and the bill will come to £10,000. The old piano is a great asset to the church, but it needs a complete overhaul – repairing splits in the soundboard, replacing felts, re-stringing the piano, regulating the keys, action, dampers and pedal mechanism etc.

“Satie composed this atmospheric and mesmeric piece in 1893 following a difficult break-up with his girlfriend, and it wasn’t performed in its entirety until 1963 in a concert organised by notorious experimentalist John Cage.”

A complete programme for the performance may be found at www.adamswayne.com/vexations. To find out more about the series, visit www.stlukesconcerts.webeden.co.uk or contact [email protected] to join the mailing list.