High School Open Rehearsal: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 11, The Year 1905 | Decoding Shostakovich
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA
Andris Nelsons, conductor
ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Symphony No. 6
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905
The first in our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Written more than 50 years after the Russian Revolution and during another point of political and historical upheaval, Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony is a revisitation of the events of Bloody Sunday, integrating Russian folk and revolutionary songs. The final movement is simultaneously a rallying cry and a warning to future tyrants.
Pre-rehearsal Talk
The April 10 open rehearsal will include a pre-rehearsal talk at 9:30am with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger and BSO cellist Christine Lee.
Interested school groups can purchase tickets by contacting the Group Sales office at 617-638-9345 or groupsales@bso.org.
Performance Details
Apr 10, 2025, 10:30am EDT
Featuring
Program Notes & Works
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 54
Shostakovich wrote of his Sixth Symphony, “Here I wanted to express feelings of springtime, joy, and youth.” Soviet officials considered it inappropriate given the political situation at the start of World War II.
Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Opus 103, The Year 1905
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 is both baldly patriotic and pictorial. He composed it in 1957 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1917 Revolution.
