Hérodiade de Stéphane Mallarmé: Recitation orchestrale is a composition by
Paul Hindemith written in June 1944 on commission from
Martha Graham, supported by funds from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. The ballet premiered under the title of
Herodiade (but had originally been titled
Mirror before Me) in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium at the
Library of Congress in Washington DC. The premiere took place on 30 October 1944, sharing the program with
Aaron Copland's
Appalachian Spring and
Darius Milhaud's
Jeux du printemps (Graham's ballet title was
Imagined Wing), with Martha Graham and
May O'Donnell in the leading roles. The choreography was by Martha Graham, stage design was by the Japanese American sculptor
Isamu Noguchi, and costumes by Edythe Gilfond.