“Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values that the Kennedy Center stands for today are in direct conflict with the symphony’s message,” Glass said in a statement.
In late 2025, the White House announced that the cultural center would be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center. U.S. President Donald Trump appointed himself chairman of the center in February of that year, after firing the previous chairman and handpicking a new board of directors.
Glass's Symphony No. 15, "Lincoln," was to have been performed at the Kennedy Center on June 12 and 13 under the direction of conductor Karen Kamensek.
