The management appointed by Trump is stirring: Philip Glass canceled the first performance at the Kennedy Center

American composer Philip Glass88, has resigned as a former US president of Abraham Lincoln the premiere of the narrative Symphony No. 15 from the Kennedy Center, the cultural center of the American performing arts. The composer told the message service about it in X.

President John F. Kennedy In December, the board of the Kennedy Center, named after him, named the center the Trump Kennedy Center. President of the United States Donald Trump appointed himself chairman of its board in February 2025 and filled key positions with his supporters.

According to Glass, the reason behind his decision was that the message of the symphony and the message sent by the current management of the Kennedy Center are in conflict with each other. Glass used the center’s original name in his publication.

Glass is one of the world’s most influential contemporary composers. He is particularly known for his minimalist music and is the most prolific and successful opera composer of the late 20th century. He has also visited Finland.

CNN:n according to the first performance of the symphony was supposed to be at the Kennedy Center on June 12 and 13. The symphony was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra, which was to perform the work with Karen Kamens under.

The National Symphony Orchestra has been recently in public among other things, because the new director of the Kennedy Center appointed by Trump and a supporter of Trump Richard Grenell has ordered the orchestra to play the US national anthem at the beginning of every concert.

GlasSIN the symphony is based on Lincoln’s 1838 Lyceum Address. The core message of the speech is that democracy and the rule of law can be destroyed from within. The danger does not come “from outside”, but if the destruction comes, “we ourselves are the cause of it”. Lincoln warns, among other things, about a power-hungry person who would rather “tear down” than build.

So the message of the symphony is directly political. It is a warning about the fragility of democracy, lawlessness and the risk of abuse of power, and a call to adhere to the rule of law.

Kennedy Center Communications Officer Rome Daravi criticize news agency AP according to Glass’s decision: “There is no place for politics in art. Those who call for a boycott on political grounds are making the wrong decision,” Daravi wrote in a statement.

Glass was the latest addition to the list of artistic artists who have ended their association with the Kennedy Center since Trump and his appointed management began operations at the center.

The Washington Postin according to the most significant setback in the center’s performance list was the announcement of the Washington National Opera on January 9. At the time, WNO said that it was looking for new premises for its shows, citing the changes in the center’s business model as the reason. In effect, WNO left its home at the same time, as it had performed at the Kennedy Center since 1971, when the center opened.

At the beginning of January, they canceled their appearance at the center Wicked-musical composer Stephen Schwartz and a banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck.

The jazz drummer who canceled his traditional Christmas concert announced his cancellations around 2025 Chuck Redd and the jazz group The Cookers, who canceled their two New Year’s Eve concerts.

The singer-songwriter was not seen at the Kennedy Center during the beginning of 2026 Kristy Lee and not a composer-jazz trumpeter Wayne Tuckeria. The Brentano Quartet, vocal group Vocal Arts DC, Latin Grammy nominee have also canceled their performances in the spring Sonia De Los Santosfolk duo Magpie and The Martha Graham Dance Company, says WP.

Director of the Kennedy Center Richard Grenell said at the end of December In the X service in the update he published, the artists who canceled their performances were “booked by the far-left previous management” of the center.