Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 in G minor "The Year 1905"

A cinematic symphony about the 1905 "Bloody Sunday"

Key: G minor
Composed: 1957
Premiere: 1957 Moscow
Duration: About 60 min
Movements: 4 movements
Instrumentation: Woodwinds 3·3·3·3 (3rd flute is piccolo, 3rd oboe is English horn, 3rd clarinet is bass clarinet, 3rd bassoon doubles contrabassoon) · Brass 4·3·3·1 · Timpani · Percussion (triangle, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, xylophone, tubular bells) · 2 harps · Keyboard (celesta) · Strings

The story behind this piece

It depicts "Bloody Sunday," when on January 9, 1905, soldiers fired on workers who had gathered to petition at Palace Square in St. Petersburg. Its four movements (The Palace Square, The Ninth of January, Eternal Memory, The Tocsin) follow without pause, and many revolutionary songs are quoted throughout. The scenes are so vivid that it has been called "film music without a film."

It premiered on October 30, 1957 under Rakhlin and won the Lenin Prize in 1958. Some interpret it as an allegory of the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, but there is no firm evidence.

What to listen for

Second movement "The Ninth of January": The movement depicts the massacre at Palace Square.
Fourth movement "The Tocsin": Pay attention to the bell that rings at the very end.

Listen · Score

Hear the full piece on YouTube · hr-Sinfonieorchester · Alain Altinoglu

Credits