Remixing is a creative way to engage with existing work.
BTHVN 9x9x9 Re(v)Mix
The initial premise for this work was to treat The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” (1968) as the foundational layer for a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th year, in a way resembling Luciano Berio’s treatment of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony 2, 3rd movement, in his Sinfonia, III (1968). The aim of my work, in keeping with the “9” of the Beatles track, is to incorporate references to Beethoven’s Symphony 9 (op. 125), String Quartet 9 (op. 59, no. 3), and Piano Sonata 9 (op. 14, no. 1). It is worth noting that The Beatles track pays homage to composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (who appears on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band, released in 1967), in particular his electronic collage work, Hymnen (1966-69), based on highly manipulated national anthems. Fittingly, Stockhausen recorded an album in 1970 of electronic-instrumental music (guided improvisations produced with his ensemble) paying tribute to Beethoven’s 200th, Beethoven Opus 1970. Following the trail of influences and remixes, The Residents produced a deconstruction of The Beatles with “Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life,” on the 1976 album, The Third Reich ‘N’ Roll. So, my BTHVN work layers parts of Beethoven’s 9x9x9 over “Revolution 9” along with references to Stockhausen and The Residents. All samples are processed in various ways and to various degrees, but the spoken “Number 9?” is heard at the same points it appears in the original track by The Beatles. This work was created on the initiative of Bob Priest for March Music Moderne in Portland, Oregon.