Symphony No. 2 (Shostakovich) October Revolution in his Twelfth Symphony, subtitled "The Year 1917". The symphony is a short (about 20 minutes) experimental work in one movement; within this movement are four sections, the last of which includes a chorus. In a marked departure from his First Symphony, Shostakovich composed his Second in a gestural, geometric "music without emotional structure" manner, with the intent of reflecting speech patterns and physical movements in a neo-realistic style. This choice may have been influenced at least partially by Vsevolod Meyerhold's theory of biomechanics. Shostakovich placed far more emphasis on texture in this work than he did on
Symphony No. 2 (G. English) Symphony No. 2 (G. English) Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 5 was composed by George English in 1933 (from 1 February to 2 November). It is a bit larger works than his First, but more conventional too. Like the English's Symphony No. 1, this symphony was performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under the composer's direction during the Melbourne Centenary Celebrations (1934). On 28 October 1934 another performance of the Second followed, again with the composer conducting. An advertisement in "The Argus" described it as "The Australian Symphony". On 30 June 1935 the First was heard for another