Philip Glass Withdraws Symphony From Kennedy Center; National Symphony Will Stay

Philip Glass told the Kennedy Center that he did not want his Symphony No. 15 — a portrait of Abraham Lincoln set for a world premiere by the National Symphony Orchestra this June — performed on its stage, writing that the center’s “values … are in direct conflict with the message of the symphony,” a letter shared with The New York Times said.

The work had been commissioned six years ago for the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary in 2022 and missed its original deadline. Glass, 88, who received a Kennedy Center Honors award in 2018, is the latest artist to cancel appearances amid broader turmoil at the center, which has seen other withdrawals including Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck and the Washington National Opera seeking to end its affiliation.

The National Symphony’s leadership vowed to remain at the Kennedy Center. Joan Bialek, chair of the orchestra board, said, “We are going to make this work,” and Jean Davidson, the orchestra’s executive director, said the group’s finances were too entangled with the Kennedy Center to consider leaving.

Music director Gianandrea Noseda said, “I cannot make everybody happy,” and that his focus is “to serve the art, the music and the community.” The orchestra noted falling attendance and a campaign to bring patrons back; attendance is down about 50 percent from the season before President Trump returned to office, though the gala raised about $3.5 million this year, a record.