The Four Temperaments

About the show

The Four Temperaments or Theme and Four Variations (The Four Temperaments) is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, However, Balanchine created the choreography a few years later. The ballet, The Four Temperaments was the first work Balanchine made for the Ballet Society, the forerunner of the New York City Ballet, and premiered on November 20, 1946, at the Central High School of Needle Trades, New York, during the Ballet Society's first performance. Though critics at the premiere did not receive the ballet well, it was later acknowledged as a "masterpiece," and was revived by ballet companies worldwide.