Symphony No. 12

After giving in to massive pressure from state authorities in 1960 and finally becoming a member of the Communist Party, Shostakovich fell into a gloomy depression. His 8th String Quartet, composed in the same year, is interpreted as a deeply personal commentary on this. By contrast, his Symphony No.12, which was written around the same time and bears the subtitle ‘The Year 1917’, seems like a dutiful official statement with its October Revolution subject matter. Remarkable are the work’s recourse to the ideals of early communism and the omission of any references to contemporary times. In the West, the symphony was seen as pure propaganda music – but even back then, many listeners will have had an idea of what was hidden behind the shrill, tense jubilation.

This volume is part of the revised and corrected new edition of all 15 symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich published by Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski as large format study scores for optimal legibility. All scores and the related orchestral parts have been newly computer typeset, and the orchestral parts are also compatible for performance use with scores in ‘The New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich’.