Sinfonia no 11 shostakovich biography
Sinfonia no 11 shostakovich biography book...
Mark Wigglesworth
Mark’s notes on Shostakovich Symphony No. 11
Revolution
On the morning of Sunday 9th January 1905, thousands of Russians gathered in front of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg.
The country’s economy was in dire straits; and yet despite extreme poverty and hardship, the assembled crowd had no intention of anything other than presenting their government with a peaceful petition.
Sinfonia no 11 shostakovich biography
They were simply asking to have their grievances heard and not only did they expect to be received with respect and maybe even kindness, but genuinely believed that the Tsar would be able help. Many of them had huge regard for him; they even sang ‘God Save the Tsar’.
No one will know what would have happened had an unnecessarily apprehensive Tsar Nicholas II not made the tragic mistake of deciding at the last minute to leave the city in advance of the demonstration.
In his absence the people grew restless and, when the police ordered them to disperse