Classical pieces of music like “In The Hall of The Mountain King,” “Adagio for Strings,” “Symphony No. 5,” “Winter from Four Seasons,” and more have been remixed over time in the electronic music world. But never before has there been a concerted effort, especially from a streaming platform, to gather remixes for a specific composer.
Beethoven Remixed, an extensive, 14-track release, gives music fans the chance to hear their favorite electronic artists mash up the concert hall with the dance floor. Each track features innovative, modern-day reimaginings of some of classical music’s most iconic compositions, such as “Moonlight Sonata,” the most popular piano piece sampled by the featured DJs. This boundary-pushing and first-of-its-kind release combines the timeless sounds of classical music, with the infectious vibrancy of contemporary electronica, like never before.
Highlights include a remix from Steve Aoki, who delivers a slick, club-ready take on the iconic “Pathétique Sonata,” while losing none of the sophisticated emotion that characterises the original composition.
“Out of all the compositions that I heard from Beethoven that I was able to remix, I picked ‘Pathétique’ because it spoke to me the most,” Steve Aoki explains. “When I’m in the studio and I’m listening to all the different samples or different ways that I could remix, I heard elements in “Pathétique” that I knew I could start tinkering with. And as I went down that road, it just felt natural.”
Dutch duo Blasterjaxx rework the similarly cherished “Moonlight Sonata,” juxtaposing its understated beauty with a mammoth drop. Aussie twins NERVO opt for a more refined, cinematic reinterpretation of the same composition, while Parisian rave queen Anetha sculpts it into a pounding techno cut.
NERVO added: “We chose the ‘Moonlight Sonata’ because the piano playing is nothing we could ever do. It was such a privilege to be able to work with that, and 132 bpm is great for a dance record and the sample worked well with that! We added the main melody with a cello, which added warmth to the record. We played around with this, we thought we would go harder with a synth sound, but ended coming back to the cello.”
Beethoven Remixed is part of Deezer’s “Originals” series and is a companion piece to the contemporary classical piano album Beethoven Recomposed.
Deezer’s Beethoven Remixed is available to stream worldwide today. Check it out here.
