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The Eleventh Symphony is dedicated to the events of the first russian revolution of 1905. The symphony’s four movements convey the atmosphere of the storm brewing in St.Petersburg on the eve of the fatal day of 9 January 1905: I. Palace Square—Adagio, the march of the deceived people on the Winter Palace and how they are fired upon by the Tsar’s troops. II. Ninth of January Allegro-Adagio-Allegro, mourning over those killed. III. Eternal Memory—Adagio; and the revolutionary breakthrough, oath-taking over the graves of the victims, and confidence in imminent victory. IV. The Tocsin—Allegro non troppo-Adagio-Allegro. The symphony’s thematic material is based on popular songs of that time, most of them to music by anonymous authors, and two melodies from Shostakovich’s choral poem “Ninth of January” (No. 6 of the choral cycle a cappella on texts of Russian revolutionary poets, op. 88, 1951). The finale of the symphony also features a melody from Georgy Sviridov’s operetta Ogon’ki (“Lights”, 1951).

Instrumentation:
Piccolo (= Flute III), 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor anglais (= Oboe III), 2 Clarinets (B flat and A), Bass Clarinet (= B flat Clarinet III), 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon (= Bassoon III), 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Triangle, Side drum, Cymbals, Bass drum, Gong, Xylophone, Celesta, Orchestral bells, 2–4 Harps, 1st Violins (16–20), 2nd Violins (14–18), Violas (12–16), Cellos (10–14), Double-basses (10–12).

The fifteen "series" within the edition comprise:
I: Symphonies (vols 1-30)
II: Orchestra Compositions (vols 31-37)
III: Instrumental Concertos (vols 38-49)
IV: Compositions for the Stage (vols 50-67)
V: Suites from Operas and Ballets (vols 68-72)
VI: Compositions for Choir and Orchestra (With or Without Soloists) (vols 73-83)
VII: Unaccompanied Choral Compositions/Arrangements of Russian Folksongs (vols 84-86)
VIII: Compositions for Solo Voice(S) With Orchestra (vols 87-90)
IX: Chamber Compositions for Voice and Songs (vols 91-97)
X: Chamber Instrumental Ensembles (vols 98-105)
XI: Instrumental Sonatas(vols 106-108)
XII: Piano Compositions (vols 109-115)
XIII: Incidental Music (vols 116-121)
XIV: Film Music (vols 122-145)
XV: The Works of Other Composers, Instrumentation by Shostakovich (vols 146-150)