The 9th of January by Shostakovich

This is the first moment in the piece where Shostakovich marks for the music to be played expressively. After 12 minutes or so of this alternating between frozen silence and mournful revolutionary songs with a hint of anger, the air seems to be tingling with anticipation. We are all shivering now. This leads us to the second movement titled the 9th of January. The petitioners move forward, begging the Tsar to hear their petition. And it's hard to portray this without context and without hearing the whole movement.