Super Sunday! Of the great composers, none enjoyed football more than Dmitri Shostakovich. Russian football, that is (basically soccer). Shostakovich attended games whenever and wherever he could. He kept meticulous records of statistics and wrote articles for sports publications. He even became qualified as a referee. On one occasion he invited the entire Leningrad Dynamo over to his apartment for dinner.
In 1930, he composed a football ballet, “The Golden Age.” The scenario follows a Soviet team that falls victim to match rigging in the decadent West. The players are harassed by police and imprisoned by the evil bourgeoisie. Fortunately, the local workers overthrow their capitalist overlords and everyone lives happily ever after.
Shostakovich is said to have coined the phrase, “Football is the ballet of the masses.”
“The Golden Age” (1930) – fast-forward to the 55-minute mark for “Tea for Two.”
“Football” from “Russian River” (1945), composed for the NKVD Song and Dance Ensemble (the entertainment corps of the secret police!)
In America, everyone play football. In Soviet Russia, football play you!
PHOTOS: Shostakovich at the stadium, actually enjoying himself for a change
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