October, Op 131

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich (trans. Preston Mitchell)

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General Info

Year: 1967 /
Duration: c. 12:30
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Schirmer Russian Music
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet (optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV

(Percussion detail desired)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

October is the only composition by Shostakovich to be designated a symphonic poem and was written for the 50th anniversary of the October Bolshevik Revolution. Ideological differences between the composer and the Communist Party caused Shostakovich many personal and professional hardships, and during his lifetime his compositions were seen as property of the state, often being used for propaganda purposes. Though critics have dismissed the work as Soviet rhetoric, it is less likely that Shostakovich ever wholly subordinated his musical instincts for propaganda.

This setting of the work was transcribed for band by Gunnery Sgt. Preston Mitchell of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Mitchell notes in the score: "October did not refer to the literal events of October 1917, but rather the spirit of the revolution as it existed in the minds of Russians across the political spectrum. October symbolized an ideal new world of freedom and fellowship..."

- Program note by David Balandrin and Ricky Parrell

Media

Audio CD: United States Air Force Band (Larry D. Lang, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Brooklyn (N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Jeff W. Ball, conductor) – 14 December 2019
Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Sarah McKoin, conductor) – 3 October 2017
Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Ill.) (Mallory Thompson, conductor) - 6 November 2016
United States Air Force Band (Washington, D.C.) (Larry H. Lang, conductor – 19 December 2012 (2012 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (post 1956/2021)

All Wind Works

Allegro from "Symphony No. 10" (tr. Fisher) (1954/2010)
Ballet Suite #4 (arr. Pappajohn) (1953)
Batterie from "The Nose" (arr. Schaefer) (1928/1978)
Concertino (orch. Singleton) (1953/)
Dance I. See: Jazz Suite No. 2
Ein Volksfest (arr. Rembach) (1955/1995)
Ein Volksfest. See: Folk Festival
Excerpts from "Symphony No. 5" Finale (arr. Longfield) (1937/2007)
Festive Overture (arr. Frost) (1954/2016)
Festive Overture (tr. Hunsberger) (1954/1965)
Festive Overture (tr. Martin) (1954/2016?)
Festive Overture (tr. Patterson) (1954/)
Festive Overture (tr. Takahashi) (1954/1998)
The Fire of Eternal Glory (tr. Timothy Rhea) (1960/2011)
Fire of Eternal Glory (arr. Curnow) (1960/2011)
Folk Dances (tr. Reynolds) (1942/1979)
Folk Dances (arr. Erickson) (1942/1979)
Folk Dances (arr. Curnow) (1942/2000)
Folk Festival (tr. Hunsberger) (1955/1971)
Folk Festival. See also: Ein Volksfest
Fortinbras March from "Hamlet" (tr. Suchoff) (1932/1967)
The Gadfly (1955/)
The Gadfly (tr. Patterson) (1955/)
Galop (tr. Hunsberger) (1959/1971)
Galop (from "The Limpid Stream") (tr. Miller) (1935)
Hamlet Suite (tr. Suchoff) (1964/1975)
Intermezzo (arr. Cahn) (1928/1986/1994)
Jazz Suite No. 1 (1934)
Jazz Suite No. 2 (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
- March (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
- Lyric Waltz (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1995)
- Dance I (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
- Dance II (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
- Waltz No. 2 (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
- Finale (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
March (arr. Curnow) (2014)
March (arr. de Meij). See: Jazz Suite No. 2
March of the Soviet Militia (ed. Iakubov) (1970/2006)
October, Op 131 (arr. Mitchell) (1967)
Overture on Russian and Kirg (arr. Janssen)
Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs (tr. Duker) (1963/1989)
Overture to "The Gadfly" (arr. Geert Flik) (1955/2006)
Piano Concerto No 2 (tr. Pontini) (1957/2012)
Piano Concerto No 2 in F Major (arr. Bamonte)
Piano Trio No. 2 (arr. Graham)
Priest and His Servant Balda, The (1934)
Prelude, Op. 34, No. 14 (arr. Reynolds) (1988)
Prelude 21 and Fugue 1 (arr. McCullough) (1952/)
Prelude (Variations) from "Ballet Suite No. 4" (arr. Blankenship) (1953/)
Romance (arr. Peel) (1955/1985)
Spanish Dance from "The Gadfly" (arr. Curnow)
Suite for Jazz Orchestra no. 1. See: Jazz Suite No. 1
Symphony No. 1 (tr. Scarbrough) (1924-25)
Symphony No. 5, Mvmt I (tr. Schaeffer)
Symphony No. 5, Mvmt II (tr. Smith) (1937/1944)
Symphony No. 5: Finale (tr. Righter) (1937/1947)
Symphony No. 5, Mvmt IV (tr. Rogers) (1937/2003)
Symphony No. 5, Mvmt IV (tr. Bocook) (1937/2005)
Symphony No. 9 (arr. Mertens and Suykerbuyk) (1945/1986)
Symphony No. 9 (tr. Schaefer) (1945/1976)
Symphony No. 10, Mvt. II (tr. Fisher) (tr. Fisher) (1954/2010)
Symphony No. 10, Mvmt II (tr. O'Brien) (1954)
Symphony No. 11: Second Movement Excerpts (arr. Daehn) (1957/1989)
Tahiti Trot (tr. Brubaker) (1927/2009)
Three Symphonic Preludes (arr. Reed)
Two Scarlatti Pieces (1928)
Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (post 1956/2021)
Waltz No. 2 (arr. Connery) (post 1956/1996)
Waltz No. 2 (arr. Curnow) (post 1956/2010)
Waltz No. 2 (arr. De Meij). See: Jazz Suite No. 2

Resources

None discovered thus far.