{"id":434680,"date":"2026-01-28T11:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434680\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:35:08","slug":"philip-glass-cancels-premiere-at-maga-fied-venue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434680\/","title":{"rendered":"Philip Glass Cancels Premiere at MAGA-fied Venue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renowned composer and pianist Philip Glass announced he will be pulling his world premiere from the Kennedy Center, becoming yet another artist to cancel their scheduled appearance at the theater that has been remade in Donald Trump\u2019s image.<\/p>\n

Glass, who is just days away from his 89th birthday, announced his decision in a statement to the Washington Post<\/a>. The composer was scheduled to perform his new and highly-awaited Symphony No. 15: \u201cLincoln\u201d at the Kennedy Center this June. Glass said he could no longer perform under the Kennedy Center\u2019s current leadership.<\/p>\n

\"PhilipPhilip Glass said the values of his much-awaited symphony are “in direct conflict” with the values of the Kennedy Center under its current leadership. Robbie Jack\/Corbis via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter thoughtful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my Symphony No. 15 \u2018Lincoln\u2019 from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,\u201d Glass wrote in his statement. \u201cSymphony 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glass, a recipient of a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, was also awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018. <\/p>\n

Symphony No. 15: \u201cLincoln\u201d was jointly commissioned by the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra. After several delays, the piece was finally set to be performed at the center this summer as a part of its \u201c250 Years of Us\u201d program. <\/p>\n

\"DonaldPresident Donald Trump hosted the 48th Kennedy Center Honors in December 2025. Paul Morigi\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Glass\u2019s statement comes after President Donald Trump took control of the cultural institution. Last February, Trump terminated \u201cmultiple individuals\u201d from the center, replacing its longtime chairman, David Rubenstein, with himself<\/a>. On Dec. 19, the president added his name to the center, unofficially but effectively renaming it<\/a> \u201cThe Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Since then, a slew of artists who have distanced themselves from\u2014or outright condemned\u2014the Kennedy Center in recent months<\/p>\n

That list includes the Washington National Opera<\/a>, which left after more than 50 years of residency; Grammy-winning soprano Ren\u00e9e Fleming<\/a>; America\u2019s oldest dance troupe, The Martha Graham Dance Company<\/a>; folk singer Kristy Lee<\/a>; and Grammy-winning bluegrass performer B\u00e9la Fleck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ticket sales<\/a> at the center have fallen sharply in 2025, according to data collected by the Washington Post. The annual Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by none other than Donald Trump this past December, also attracted its smallest-ever audience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts added President Donald J. Trump’s name to the building on December 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post\/Marvin Joseph\/The Washington Post via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Trump has attempted to justify the downfall<\/a> of the center since his involvement. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize that The Trump Kennedy Center suffered massive deficits for many years,\u201d the president wrote on Truth Social<\/a> on Jan. 26. \u201cAnd, like everything else, I merely came in to save it and, if possible, make it far better than ever before!<\/p>\n

Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack<\/a> and YouTube<\/a> for even more coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renowned composer and pianist Philip Glass announced he will be pulling his world premiere from the Kennedy Center,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,88,51879],"class_list":{"0":"post-434680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-kennedy-center"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}