Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "October"

Shostakovich

 

Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "October"

 

 

Bolshevik (1920), by Boris Kustodiev.

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 2 in B major, Op. 14 and subtitled To October, for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy Capella Choir under Nikolai Malko, on 5 November 1927. After the premiere, Shostakovich made some revisions to the score, and this final version was first played in Moscow later in 1927 under the baton of Konstantin Saradzhev. It was also the first time any version of the work had been played in Moscow.^[1]

Shostakovich later revisited the events of the October Revolution in his Twelfth Symphony, subtitled The Year

 

Structure

The symphony is a short (ca. 20 minutes) experimental work in one movement; within this movement are four sections, the last of which includes a chorus. In a marked departure from his First Symphony, Shostakovich composed his Second in a gestural, geometric "music without emotional structure" manner, with the intent of reflecting speech patterns and physical movements in a neo-realistic style. This choice may have been influenced at least partially by Vsevolod Meyerhold's theory of biomechanics.^[2]

1. Largo

   Meant to portray the primordial chaos from which order emerged, instrumental voices merge in this 13-voice polyphonic beginning, like impulses released from the void. This was considered Klangflächenmusik (cluster composition) before the term was officially coined.^[3]

2. Quarter note=152

   A meditative episode which Shostakovich described as the "death of a child" (letter to Boleslav Yavorsky) killed on the Nevsky Prospekt.^[4]

3. Poco meno mosso. Allegro molto.
4. Chorus: "To October"

   The choral finale of the work sets a text by Alexander Bezymensky praising Lenin and the revolution.

Shostakovich placed far more emphasis on texture in this work than he did on thematic material. He quickly adds sonorities and layers of sound in a manner akin to Abstract ｅxpressionism instead of focusing on contrapuntal clarity. While much of the symphony consequently consists of sound effects rather than music, the work possesses an unquestionable vitality and incorporates the basic elements of the musical language he used in the rest of his career.^[4]

 

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for mixed choir (in the final part) and orchestra of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, (factory) siren, and strings.