He was spurred to compose the work after reencountering his score for the Vasilyev brothers' 1937 film Volochayev Days [ru], reusing its "Partisan Song" in October.

Then a few months ago I was at the Mosfilm Studios, where the Vasilyev brothers' old film Volochayev Days [ru], for which I wrote the music, was being prepared for re-release.

[4] Marina Sabinina speculated that October may have emerged from Shostakovich's unrealized attempt to depict the Russian Civil War in the third movement of his Twelfth Symphony, citing its use of the "Partisan Song" and a comment by the composer saying that he had "been nurturing his new poem for a long time.

"[5] In response to a questionnaire submitted to him by Komsomolets Tajikistana, Shostakovich wrote: I particularly enjoyed working on my symphonic poem October, which expresses my feelings of pride in my Motherland and admiration for her exploits.

Shostakovich left it to Oistrakh to choose the conductor, but urged the violinist to speak with Maxim personally and explain to him the seriousness of the duties involved in conducting a world premiere.

[7] The world premiere of October took place on September 16, 1967, at the Large Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, performed by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maxim Shostakovich;[8] the composer was hospitalized at the time and was unable to attend the concert.

[16] According to Sofia Khentova, some critics in the Soviet press detected Cossack influences in the work and speculated whether these were drawn from material intended for Shostakovich's unrealized opera based on Mikhail Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don.

"[18]Meyer dismissed October as an inferior variant of fragments from Shostakovich's Twelfth Symphony, that "it is impossible to find even a single original idea" in the score, suffers from "very serious formal defects, especially in its second half," and that "even the Song of the Forests would qualify as a masterpiece in comparison.

"[21] Shostakovich's versatility in being able to "easily revert back to something more 'middle-period' when required" drew praise from Michael Mishra, who also wrote that October was a "stirring work.

"[22] In her survey of Shostakovich's music composed for official occasions, Pauline Fairclough praised October as a "fine symphonic poem" that feels "strikingly active.

[15] Philip Taylor wrote that the work, with its allusions to "The Ninth of January" movement from the Eleventh Symphony, was a "vibrant and colorful piece with a very satisfying structure in which the climaxes are carefully placed to achieve the maximum dramatic effect," and that its relative neglect was unjustified.