In 2011, the Berlin Philharmonic held an open competition inviting contributors to create remixes of Mahler’s First Symphony using the orchestra’s recording of the work. Such remixes of structurally extended works can be understood through the “Wiki” philosophy of technologically-driven, open communication of ideas. The over 150 remixes submitted fall into four categories: dubstep-style remixes, remixes that only sampled Mahler, Ambient-style remixes, and unclassifiable, idiosyncratic remixes. The tension between the fragmentary nature of the remix material and Mahler’s larger musical structures is a core issue in understanding them. Most of the remixes played with the cuckoo call motif in some form, further fragmenting an already fragmented element of the musical material. The disregard for hegemonic structure found in the remixes reflects Mahler’s own disregard for stylistic convention.

Works: Weiss Schnur: Gustav Mahler First Symphony (131); Pivotal Movement: Symphony No. 1—Mahler—Berliner Philharmoniker (131); Komponists: Mahler Remix 2 (132); jeff_harrington: Mahler vs. Mahler (132, 143); Silvio Palmieri: Mahler-Palmieri (132, 143); TUNEDIN 52: Eternal (132); BpOlar: Bp Mahler rmx (132); Audhentik: Gustav Mahler—Symphony Nr. 1 (132, 143); Maja Bay: Berliner Philly Remix (132); Geck0ne: Jimi’s Version (132); Clangworks: Victim of the Times (143); giuseppe costa: Mix per Mahler (143); NuttyChunks: First Symphony by Gustav Mahler (chopped and changed by Nutty Chunks) (143); ben.harper: Herr Mahler Died Last Night at 150 (143); Marcus Leadley: Mahler–12 Tone remix (143); NOYJ: Meditation on the First Movement of Mahler’s First Symphony (143).

Sources: Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (131-32, 142-43).

Index Classifications: 2000s

Contributed by: Matthew Van Vleet