The Age of Anxiety

Leonard Bernstein's Symphony no.2 (1949), after Auden.

Ballet in one act with choreography by Robbins, music by Bernstein, sets by O. Smith, costumes by Sharaff, and lighting by Rosenthal. Premiered 26 Feb. 1950 by New York City Ballet, at City Center, New York, with LeClerq, Moncion, Bolender, and Robbins. It is set to Bernstein's 2nd Symphony, itself based on W. H. Auden's The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue (1946) and portrays four dancers losing their illusions as they attempt to discover life's meaning. Neumeier created a version for Hamburg Ballet in 1979.