Karl Marx has said very little about music; from a Marxist point of view this could be explained by the fact that, since he spent most of his adult life in poverty in London, he had no opportunity to experience music. However, this has not prevented composers, especially in the last hundred years, from making him their subject or using his thoughts. For the Marx Year 2019 some current examples of the musical engagement with Marx are presented here. Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is one of the world's foremost new music ensembles. Over three decades, BCMG has developed the music of today for the audiences of tomorrow. The ensemble has commissioned over 175 pieces of music from the world's finest composers and emerging international talent. Many of the works have been commissioned through it's innovative pioneering Sound Investment crowd-funding scheme to which over 500 donors have contributed more than £300,000; many of these works have subsequently found their way into worldwide repertoire.