Can ‘Mix an’ be replaced with ‘Mix von’?

Question

The below paragraph from Der Spiegel article "US-Präsidentschaftskandidat weiß nicht, was Aleppo ist" is about the program of Gary Johnson, Candidate for President of the United States. In the first sentence of the paragraph, is an replaceable with von?

Johnson widmet sich im Wahlkampf einem bunten Mix an Themen. Sein Programm: Steuern runter, Pazifismus, offene Einwanderungspolitik, Freihandel, Legalisierung von Marihuana. Damit könnte er sowohl Trump als auch Clinton wichtige Prozentpunkte kosten.

If it is replaceable, would an be considered more formal?

Answer 1

Well you can't say that "X an" is always replaceable with "X von", especially in this sentence you shouldn't replace it.

Cause in the case you wrote, the word "an" is used as an Adverb. Adverbs have the problematic Attribute that they are hard to define and they overlap with other word types.

So the problem is there aren't strict rules (or even none) how you have to use them, you just have to know when you can use which one.

To conclude:

I wouldn't use the combination from "Mix von" in this example, because it sounds and will be perceived as wrong. If you want to use it, you have to use an additional word "Mix von verschiedenen", to complete the sentence.

Answer 2

I'd expect a person to be named after "Mix von", so it sounds wrong to me in the context you provided.