The Golden Age, ballet, Op. 22 (1930)

The Golden Age by Dmitri Shostakovich is remembered above all for its famous third-act polka, a satirical number parodying Western decadence that has become one of the composer’s most widely circulated pieces. Yet the full ballet score is far broader and more unpredictable than the familiar concert suite, revealing a sprawling work characteristic of Shostakovich’s late-1920s style—energetic, restless, and experimental.

Like other works from this period, the ballet combines sharp satire with exuberant musical invention. Dance-hall idioms, cabaret gestures, and a distinctly Soviet conception of jazz—often highlighted by prominent saxophone writing—shape much of the orchestration. Episodes frequently begin with light or popular-style material before expanding into dense, chaotic orchestral climaxes. While Shostakovich occasionally approaches the melodic clarity and elegance later associated with Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, the overall effect remains more volatile and episodic.

The ballet’s loosely defined plot follows a Soviet football team visiting an industrial exposition in a fictional Western city, where they encounter various ideological adversaries. Despite the scenario’s ambiguity and the work’s demanding scale, The Golden Age offers a wealth of inventive musical ideas and vivid orchestral color. Heard within the context of Shostakovich’s early career, it also reveals stylistic elements that would later reappear—transformed and refined—in works such as the composer’s Symphony No. 5.