Shostakovich 11: The Soul of the People
Article
On the occasion of our concert on 28 November, in which we will perform Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony with the renowned cellist Truls Mørk, Francis Maes will guide you through the history behind the music.
Shostakovich chose the failed revolution of 1905 as the theme for his tribute to socialism. His attachment to that historical period is beyond doubt: “I love that period in the history of our motherland, which found a clear expression in the revolutionary songs of the workers.” He described his new symphony as a portrayal of the soul of the people who paved the way for socialism. The revolutionary songs formed the core of the work, both in the form of quotations and in the spirit of the whole.
Shostakovich completed the Eleventh Symphony on 4 August 1957. The official enthusiasm was so great that the premiere had to take place in the capital, Moscow. On 30 October 1957, Nathan Rakhlin conducted the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. The symphony was warmly received by both the authorities and the public. In 1958, Shostakovich was awarded the Lenin Prize for it.
A myth has grown around the Eleventh Symphony concerning its deeper meaning. Shostakovich is said not to have intended it as a tribute to the 1905 revolution, but rather as a hidden protest against the Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956. This dissident reading found its way into Testimony (1979) by Solomon Volkov and has since circulated widely. There is, however, no solid evidence to support this alternative interpretation. Performers have persistently tried to show that Shostakovich meant the historical revolutionary songs metaphorically. The alternate reading points to the growing importance of dissident voices during the Khrushchev era.
Dissent was a byproduct of cautious liberalization. Once the reins were loosened, space emerged for opponents to organize and spread ideas. The legend of the secret message in the Eleventh Symphony thus belongs to the history of the work itself. Its aura of mystery and secrecy was decisive for its international success. By contrast, the Twelfth Symphony, a comparable work about the 1917 revolution, fared remarkably worse. It carries no aura of dissent or mystery.
The tone and genuine love for the historical songs the Eleventh Symphony quotes, elevate it above straightforward propaganda.
From Shostakovich’s own accounts, it is clear that composing the Eleventh Symphony was more than the fulfillment of an official duty. To truly appreciate its qualities, we should hear it against the backdrop of the actual ceremonial works that preceded it. Shostakovich announced that the Eleventh would not be a repetition of The Song of the Forests. Its personal tone and genuine love for the historical songs it quotes elevate it above straightforward propaganda. The suggestive first movement—the winter morning in the square before the Winter Palace, preceding the bloody confrontation of 9 January 1905—is rightly celebrated as an atmospheric poem in sound.
