NEW YORK (AP) — Award-winning composer Philip Glass has canceled the planned world premiere of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln at the Kennedy Center, the latest in a series of cancellations since President Donald Trump ousted previous leadership.
Glass’s Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” was scheduled to take place on June 12 and June 13, conducted by Grammy-winning conductor Karen Kamensek.
“The Fifteenth Symphony is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the symphony’s message,” Glass said in a statement released by her publicist on Tuesday. “Therefore, I feel obligated to withdraw this symphony’s premiere from the Kennedy Center under current leadership.”
A spokesman for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Glass, who turns 89 on Saturday, is a 2018 Kennedy Center honoree.
Over the past year, artists ranging from Renée Fleming to Bela Fleck have pulled out of planned performances. Trump’s handpicked board of directors said they are renaming the center the Trump Kennedy Center and have placed it at the center of his campaign against what he calls a “woke” culture. “
Despite calls from Congress for such changes and action, Trump’s name was hanging outside the venue, except for Kennedy’s.
