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American composer and Academy Award nominee Philip Glass announced that he is pulling the world premiere of his Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” at the Trump Kennedy Center, claiming there was a direct “conflict” between his work and the institution’s current leadership.
“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 on Tuesday. “Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.”
“Lincoln” was originally going to be performed at the Trump Kennedy Center on June 12 and June 13. According to The Washington Post, the symphony was originally commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center in 2022 before facing several delays. It was later restored to the Center’s schedule as part of the “250 Years of Us” programming meant to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary.
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In a comment to Fox News Digital, Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Trump Kennedy Center, criticized the decision, suggesting that Glass was canceling due to political pressure.
“We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision. We have not cancelled a single show. Leftist activists are pushing artists to cancel, but the public wants artists to perform and create — not cancel under pressure from political insiders that benefit from creating division,” Daravi said.
Jean Davidson, executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, also told Fox News Digital that the orchestra was not informed about this decision until the statement from Glass was released.
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“We have great admiration for Philip Glass and were surprised to learn about his decision at the same time as the press,” Davidson said.
Glass was previously honored at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Glass is one of several performers or entertainers who have announced that they would be canceling shows at the Center since Trump took over as chairman in Feb. 2025.
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In March, “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced that he would be pulling a planned production of his musical in protest of Trump’s leadership, saying he was “not going to be part of it.”
Additional performers began canceling their shows after the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the institution the “Trump–Kennedy Center” in December.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell has dismissed the cancellations, saying the artists involved were booked under what he described as the previous “far left leadership.”
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“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” Grenell wrote on social media. “Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it.”
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