October (Shostakovich)

October
by Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich in 1958
Key	C minor–C major
Opus	131
Occasion	50th anniversary of the October Revolution
Composed	July 1967–August 10, 1967
Published	1967
Publisher	Hans Sikorski Musikverlage
Duration	13 minutes
Scoring	Orchestra
Premiere
Date	September 16, 1967 (1967-09-16)
Location	Large Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
Conductor	Maxim Shostakovich
Performers	USSR State Symphony Orchestra

October, Op. 131, is a symphonic poem composed by Dmitri Shostakovich to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution in 1967. He was spurred to compose the work after reencountering his score for the Vasilyev brothers' 1937 film Volochayev Days [ru], reusing its "Partisan Song" in October. Although Shostakovich completed the work quickly, the process of writing it fatigued him physically because of his deteriorating motor functions.

The world premiere of October was played on September 16, 1967, by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maxim Shostakovich, the composer's son. He had been vying to conduct the world premiere of the Violin Concerto No. 2, but was offered October instead. The American premiere took place on October 10, 1988, at Avery Fisher Hall, played by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Andrew Davis.

In spite of its populist aims, October was received tepidly in the Soviet Union. Western critics have also been muted and sometimes hostile to the work, but some have defended it; finding in it parallels to the Tenth and Eleventh Symphonies, and stating that it is unjustly ignored.