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Composer: Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 -- 9 August 1975) Orchestra: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Kirill Kondrashin Symphony No. 12 in D minor (The Year 1917), Op. 112, written in 1961 00:00 - I. [Revolutionary Petrograd]* 12:38 - II. [Razliv]* 23:15 - III. [Aurora]* 27:07 - IV. [The Dawn of Humanity]* *(All movements without intermission) The Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112, was composed in 1960-1961 and is dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Shostakovich programatically entitled it “The Year 1917“, and the titles of the four movements have also reference to the events of that year: 1. Revolutionary Petrograd; 2. Razliv; 3. Aurora; 4. The Dawn of Humanity. The title of the second movement is the name of the place near which Lenin stayed in hiding, that of the third the name of the legendary battle cruiser “Aurora“ whose broadside meant the starting shot of the Revolution, on October 25th, 1917. The idea of a symphony with Lenin as subject had been on Shostakovich's mind for decades but he changed his plans several times. Lenin's death in 1924 became the decisive impulse. But it was only in 1940 that his future work assumed more concrete forms in his imagination; he conceived it as a symphonic vocal cycle in four movements: “The first movement will deal with Vladimir Ilyich's youth, the second with Lenin as the leader of the October Revolution, the third with Vladimir Ilyich's death, and the fourth with life without Lenin, but on his way, in his spirit. I already have a number of musical fragments which will be part of this work.“ Originally, the composer had planned to use excerpts from poetic text of his work; he also wanted to incorporate in his symphony popular songs about Lenin, but his plans were thwarted when World War II broke out. Only twenty years later, Shostakovich resumed his interrupted work. In a broadcast on October 29th, 1960, he relates to the development of his work and his motivation: “I myself have been witness of the events of the October Revolution. I was one of those listening to Vladimir Ilyich on the square in front of the Finland Railway Station on the day of his arrival. And though I was quite young then, this has mad an indelible impression on my mind. My memories of these unforgettable days do of course help me in my work.“ The composer completed the full score of the symphony - meanwhile a merely instrumental one - on August 22nd, 1961. The Twelfth Symphony was first performed on October 1st, 1961, in Leningrad, by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra; its first performance in Moscow, by the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR took place two weeks later. Original Audio:
