While it is popularly believed that the orchestral work Blumine ("Flower Piece") merely constitutes a discarded movement of the Symphony No. 1, the circumstances of its existence are somewhat more complicated. Blumine's origins can be traced to Mahler's 1884 incidental score for J. V. Scheffel's play The Trumpeter of Säkkingen. Blumine, adapted from this score, was later incorporated into a symphonic poem, which itself formed the kernel of the First Symphony. By the time he completed the well-known, four-movement symphony, Mahler had added and dropped programmatic titles for all of the movements, changed the overall title twice, made substantial revisions to the Finale, and eliminated Blumine from the scheme of the larger work. (Mahler's revisions to the First Symphony continued as late as 1906.)

Blumine is a short, idyllic intermezzo featuring a gentle trumpet solo over a subdued accompaniment. Scored for small orchestra, it stands in sharp contrast to the relatively gigantic scoring of the First Symphony. The form unfolds simply and without undue drama, rising to a single forte climax before ending quietly. Stylistically, Blumine has much in common with the posthorn solos of the Third Symphony, at the same time echoing the same rustic and nostalgic atmosphere so common in Mahler's earlier works. Despite its early date (Mahler was twenty-four when he wrote it), Blumine foreshadows the distinctive stylistic traits and technical mastery found in the composer's later works.

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