IV. Largo

Shostakovich Symphony No. 12, The year 1917. All four movements: Revolutionary Petrograd, Razliv, Aurora and The Dawn of Humanity. Shostakovich was commissioned to write a work commemorating Lenin and the 1917 Revolution. Reluctant to comply with the expectations of the Soviet state, he now took exactly the opposite approach and wrote his most programmatic symphony. He used his well-honed technique to conjure up brilliantly the atmospheres and events of the revolution, thereby avoiding having to make any personal comments on it or its leaders.
BBC Music Magazine: Editor's Choice.