Philip Glass cancels Kennedy Center symphony premiere in protest of Trump’s leadership

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Prize-winning composer Philip Glass has called off a scheduled world premiere at the Kennedy Center of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln, the latest in a wave of cancellations since President Donald Trump ousted the previous leadership.

Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” was to have been led by Grammy-winning conductor Karen Kamensek for performances on June 12 and June 13.

“Symphony No. 15 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 said in a statement released Tuesday by his publicist. “Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.”

Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, responded in a statement, “We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision.”

Glass, who turns 89 on Saturday, was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2018. Three years earlier, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by then-President Barack Obama.

Artists withdrawing from planned Kennedy Center performances have ranged from Renée Fleming to Bela Fleck. Trump, whose handpicked board of trustees have said they are renaming the center the Trump Kennedy Center, has placed the venue at the heart of his campaign against what he calls “woke” culture.”

Trump’s name already has been added to the building’s facade, despite scholars’ saying that such a change requires an act of Congress.

“Lincoln” was inspired by the 1838 “Lyceum Address,” in which the future president warned against mob violence and the dangers it created for democracy and the rule of law. A 28-year-old Illinois state representative at the time, Lincoln delivered the speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum, a debating society in Springfield.