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
Gaelic Symphony Gaelic Symphony Gaelic Symphony or Symphony in E-Minor, Op. 32 was written by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach in 1894; it was the first symphony composed and published by a female American composer. The piece debuted in Boston on Friday, October 30, 1896 to "public and journalistic acclaim." Beach drew inspiration for the large orchestral work from simple old English, Irish, and Scottish melodies; thus, she subtitled the work 'Gaelic.' Beach began composing her symphony in November 1894. Although Beach would later become more accepting of music from North American traditions—such as Eskimo and Native American themes—Beach chose to incorporate songs