The symphony lasts around 25 to 30 minutes. The finale sets a text by Semyon Isaakovich Kirsanov praising May Day and the revolution. Interpretation is difficult: in a letter to Boleslav Yavorsky, Shostakovich said that the work "expresses the spirit of peaceful reconstruction"; on the other hand, most of the material preceding the finale is dark and sometimes sardonic in tone.
| Date of composition | 1929 |
| Premiered | 1930, January 21st in Russia, Saint Petersburg |
| Type | Symphony |
| Tonality | E-flat Major |
| Catalogue | Op. 20 |
| Instruments |
Orchestra
Voice |
| Autotranslations beta |
Dmitri Chostakovitch: Symphonie n°3 en mi bémol majeur, Op. 20 "The First of May" Dmitrij Šostakovič: Sinfonia n. 3 in mi bemolle maggiore, Op. 20 "The First of May" Dmitri Dmitrijewitsch Schostakowitsch: Sinfonie Nr. 3 Es-dur, Op. 20 "The First of May" |