Wild Songs

On 5 May 1818, Karl Marx was born in Trier. Two hundred years later, his ideas remain the focus of continued debate and discussion. His analyses on the cyclic nature of crises, on globalisation and the alienation of labour have hardly diminished in relevance. The project “Wild Songs” was based on the belief that even music – though seemingly unpolitical – could be described and analysed with Marxist terminology. As an intellectual product, music is an expression of social awareness which is defined and altered by material living conditions. At the same time, Marx regarded composing as an example of “truly free”, i.e. unalienated, labour. Not only did music play an important role in his personal life, but he also penned an article for the Rheinische Zeitung, praising Rhenish musical culture. Entitled “Wilde Lieder” (Wild Songs), the young Marx extolled the power of music in romantic poems. Artists like Hanns Eisler and Bertolt Brecht repeatedly attempted to put Marx’s works to music.
The project “Wild Songs” wished to musically revivify Marx’s intellectual world and ideals. The project’s organisers have commissioned young composers from around the world to write music which explored Marx’s themes and analyses, and encouraged listeners to perceive music in its societal contexts. Following an international call for scores, additional works had been selected for production at commemorative exhibitions in Great Britain and Germany – the two countries where Marx spent most of his life. Works of radiophonic sound art have been integrated into the exhibitions as sound installations.

Artistic director: Stephan Meier (GB)
Curator: Stefan Fricke
Musicians: Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (GB)
Artists: Robert Reid Allan (GB), Frédéric Pattar (FR), Sergej Newski (RU), Kaspar Querfurth (GB), Ruiqi Wang (CN), Celeste Oram (US)