Philip Glass’ latest symphony, Symphony no. 15 ‘Lincoln’, will receive its world premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra during this year’s Tanglewood Festival on 5th July. The composer withdrew it from performance at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, in protest of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The symphony, which was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, made headlines at the end of January when Glass announced that he was withdrawing the work from its scheduled world premiere in June at the Kennedy Center, made after Trump renamed the venue and replaced its board of trustees.
“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,” Glass said at the time.
Room for the premiere has been made specially in the festival’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary by extending the three-day event to four days. The eight-movement symphony will be conducted by Karen Kamensek and features baritone soloist Zachary James, with both artists making their Tanglewood debuts.
It is programmed alongside two other works honouring the great American president: Aaron Copland’s 1942 Lincoln Portrait, and selections from John Williams’ score of the 2012 Steven Spielberg film Lincoln.
“I am very pleased that the Boston Symphony Orchestra will perform Symphony no. 15, 'Lincoln',” Glass said. “Tanglewood and the BSO have a deep history with new music and civic engagement. For over a century and a half, the figure of Abraham Lincoln, a person who held the country together at its worst moment, remains at the centre of the debate of who we are as Americans. The performance of this new symphony falls into the current discussion about our national identity and values.”
Having won a wide, multigenerational audience in the opera house, concert hall, dance world, and in film and popular music, Philip Glass, who turns 90 in 2027, is one of the world’s most popular and prolific living composers.
