The acclaimed American composer Philip Glass announced this Tuesday that he will withdraw the world premiere of his Lincoln Symphony from the Kennedy Center, the great venue for the performing arts in the American capital, because he considers that “the values of his work conflict with those of the center”, currently taken over by the Donald Trump Administration.
As soon as he sat in the Oval Office for his second term, the president of the United States proclaimed himself president of the institution and appointed new trusted advisors to the board of directors. He has since converted it into a MAGA temple. Make America Great Againthe movement that drives Trump). He has changed programming to offer works with more political and ideological criteria, has held Republican conferences and events for his personal promotion, and even a vigil for the murder of right-wing youth leader Charlie Kirk, while attendance at the public center has plummeted in recent months. At the end of December, the Republican president ordered his name added to the center, which has now been officially called “The Trump Kennedy Center.”
Glass, who won the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2022, thus joins other artists who have given up performing at the venue, which stands between the Potomac River and the historic Watergate Hotel. The Washington National Opera announced a couple of weeks ago that it was leaving what had been its headquarters for the last 50 years for the same reason. Five-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Renée Flemming announced a few days ago that she would not perform at the center either. Other artists such as Béla Fleck, folk singer Kristy Lee, performers Issa Rae and Philadelphia rock band Low Cut Connie have also canceled their performances.
“After careful reflection, I have decided to withdraw my Symphony 15 Lincoln from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” Glass wrote in a statement published on X.
The National Symphony Orchestra six years ago commissioned Glass, who will turn 89 next week, to compose a symphony to commemorate the center’s 50th anniversary and the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Independence from the United Kingdom, which is celebrated this year. Glass, one of the most influential composers in the United States, had scheduled the world premiere of the work Lincoln, performed by the orchestra at the end of next June.
“The 15th Symphony is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony,” Glass wrote on social media. This composer and pianist, born in Baltimore and a resident of Washington, is the author of some of the most outstanding symphonic works of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He has composed operas such as Einstein on the Beach, Akhnaten, The Voyage y The Perfect American. He has composed melodies for film soundtracks and has participated in major Broadway productions.
The premiere of Lincoln It was one of the most anticipated events in the capital’s artistic community. Glass’s decision has surprised the center’s and symphony’s executives, he explains. The New York Times. “We have great admiration for Philip Glass and were surprised to learn of his decision at the same time as the press,” said Jean Davidson, the orchestra’s executive director.
Following the announcement by the National Opera that it would not return to programming in what had been its reference center since 1971, the National Symphony Orchestra remains the last major artistic institution that maintains its activity at the venue.
The artistic director of the National Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda, has stated that the institution will remain at the Kennedy Center despite the suspensions and cancellations. The Italian explains that he tries to stay away from the political noise that surrounds the venue and limit himself to the art of music.
Trump’s arrival in the center coincides with the collapse of public attendance by around 50%. However, the center’s finances are improving after hosting a Republican convention, and especially this year’s annual gala, when the president’s friends and allies left record donations.
Another controversy with the center occurred last December, when Trump offered the facility to FIFA to celebrate the draw for the World Cup that this year the United States, Canada and Mexico will jointly organize. The transfer occurred free of charge and without prior comment to the board.