Washington (United States) (AFP) – Renowned US composer Philip Glass has become the latest artist to sever ties with Washington’s Kennedy Center following its takeover by President Donald Trump, withdrawing a major new work from the institution as political controversy continues to engulf the once-nonpartisan venue.
Glass announced he would pull “Symphony No.15: ‘Lincoln'” from a planned June world premiere by the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), a decision that adds weight to a growing artist backlash against changes made under Trump’s leadership of the arts complex.
“After thoughtful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my Symphony No.15 ‘Lincoln’ from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” Glass wrote on social media. “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. Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.”
Glass, 88, is seen as the greatest living US composer and perhaps the most influential in the post-World War II era, shattering long-held linear conceptions of classical music and enthusiastically incorporating non-Western forms. He first made his name in the early 1970s as a minimalist, although he disliked the term.
Glass’ groundbreaking moment came in 1976 when he premiered “Einstein on the Beach” — a work that tore apart basic expectations of opera and marked a coming of age for the avant-garde. In a 2018 interview with AFP, he said he was never concerned about prizes — of which he earned surprisingly few — but was pleased to see his works challenge audiences at major venues.
The composer, whose mother assisted Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Europe, is a lifelong advocate for Tibet and has organized an annual concert at Carnegie Hall drawing top pop artists to benefit his Tibet House cultural center in New York.
Glass’s decision lands amid a broader pullback by artists and performers, some reacting directly to Trump’s name being added to the institution and its facade, others citing logistical or financial pressures. They include the musical Hamilton, actress and writer Issa Rae, banjo player Bela Fleck, opera soprano Renee Fleming, recital group Vocal Arts DC, The Brentano Quartet, Seattle Children’s Theatre, The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Washington National Opera, and singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos.
Others are the composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, jazz musicians The Cookers and Chuck Redd, Doug Varone and Dancers, folk musicians Magpie, Kristy Lee and Rhiannon Giddens, Philadelphia rock and roll band Low Cut Connie, and the Puerto Rican band Balun.
© 2024 AFP
