Symphony no. 11 in G minor, op. 103, "The Year 1905"

The Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (subtitled The Year 1905), by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1957 and premiered by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Natan Rakhlin on 30 October 1957. The symphony's subtitle refers to the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, which the symphony depicts. The first performance given outside the Soviet Union took place in London's Royal Festival Hall on 22 January 1958, when Malcolm Sargent conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The United States premiere was given by Leopold Stokowski and the Houston Symphony on 7 April 1958. The symphony was conceived as a popular piece and proved an instant success in the Soviet Union, his greatest since the Leningrad Symphony 15 years earlier. It earned him a Lenin Prize in April 1958.