I support what he says about the Eleventh but I think one extra point is worthy of note: I believe that Shostakovich's own father was among the crowd which gathered that day outside the Winter Palace. If that's so, the memory would surely have left its mark on the composer.
As regards the Twelfth, I long considered it an empty piece. My 'conversion' occurred in 2017 when I reviewed a performance in the unlikely setting of the Three Choirs Festival https://seenandheard-international.com/2017/07/a-memorable-commemoration-of-the-russian-revolution-at-the-three-choirs-festival/#more-72845
The preparation I did for that concert - listening in particular to the recordings by Haitink and Wigglesworth - and the performance itself convinced me that, while it may not rank amongst Shostakovich's greatest symphonies, it is much more than just a hack work. At the time I was told on reliable authority that the members of the Philharmonia Orchestra became much more impressed with the work than they expected as they came to know it.
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