Symphony No. 2 in B major (“October”), op.14 - Dmitry Shostakovich's symphony, created for the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution . It was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of Choral Chapel conducted by Nikolai Malko on November 5, 1927 . Shostakovich later returned to the events of the revolution in his Twelfth Symphony with the subtitle “ 1917 ”.
Content
Structure
The symphony consists of two parts with a total duration of about 20 minutes:
- Largo
- Choir: “October” (to the words of A. Bezymensky )
Overview
Shostakovich's second and third symphonies were often criticized for their clearly experimental nature and the predominance of agitation and propaganda elements not used by the composer, which were used in choral finals. After a considerable period of time, Shostakovich admitted that, among his fifteen symphonies, he considered second and third unsatisfactory. He also spoke of them as the result of an erroneous pursuit of originality.
References
- Fay, Laurel, Shostakovich: A Life (Oxford: 2000).
- Layton, Robert, ed. Robert Simpson, The Symphony: Volume 2, Mahler to the Present Day (New York: Drake Publishing Inc., 1972). ISBN 0-87749-245-X .
- Feuchtner, Bernd, tr. Gery Brammall, Notes for Teldec 90853, Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 ; Mstislav Rostropovich.
- Maes, Francis, tr. Arnold J. Pomerans and Erica Pomerans, From Amarine to Alabama (Berkeley, Los Angeles and University of California Press, 2002). ISBN 0-520-21815-9 .
- Schwarz, Boris, ed. Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: MacMillian, 1980), 20 vols. ISBN 0-333-23111-2 .