Symphony No. 15 (Glass)

Symphony No. 15
by Philip Glass
Philip Glass by Luis Alvarez Roure, 2016
PeriodContemporary
StylePostmodern, minimalist
FormSymphony
Composed2022
PublisherDunvagen Music Publishers
Duration35 minutes
Premiere
DateJuly 5, 2026
LocationTanglewood, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
ConductorKaren Kamensek
PerformersZachary James (Baritone)

Symphony No. 15 (Lincoln) is the fifteenth symphony by American composer Philip Glass. The piece was jointly commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center, and portrays the life of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.[1] The piece was inspired by Lincoln's 1838 "Lyceum Address."[2][3]

The composition consists of 8 individual movements and is orchestrated for a solo baritone and orchestra.[4] Prior to its premiere, the piece was subject to multiple cancellations before it was performed at Tanglewood on July 5, 2026, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Karen Kamensek, and baritone Zachary James as soloist.

History

In 2022, Glass was commissioned to compose the symphony to honor the life of President Abraham Lincoln and to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts.[5] Prior to this piece, Glass had included Lincoln as a character in several of his works, but unlike in those older compositions, Lincoln would be the main focus.[6] During the composing of the piece, while Glass primarily drew from the "Lyceum Address," he also took inspiration from Lincoln's later speeches and writings,[7] such as Lincoln's Farewell Address (1861), the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and Lincoln's final address, which had been spoken on April 11, 1865.[4]

Cancellations

On January 27, 2026, the 188th anniversary of when Lincoln had spoken the "Lyceum Address",[8] Glass publicly announced the cancellation of the symphony's premiere at the Kennedy Center due to his belief that the center's values didn't align with Lincoln's and were therefore in conflict with the piece's message and central meaning.[9][10][11][12] The decision was made a month after the center's board voted to add Donald Trump to the facility's name.[13][14] It would have made its premiere on June 12 and 13, 2026.[15][16] Prior to this, the piece's debut had already been delayed and postponed several times from when it was originally scheduled in March, 2022,[17] due to Glass failing to complete the work by the deadline.[2]

On March 4, 2026, following the cancellation of the June premiere at the Kennedy Center and after performing at the 39th annual benefit concert of Tibet House US, where Glass served as co-director, actor Robert De Niro, a critic of Trump, began reciting excerpts from Lincoln's "Lyceum Address" on the stage of Carnegie Hall.[18] New sources interpreted his iteration as a renewal of Lincoln's message of civility and as a warning against democracy's dangers.[19][20]

Premiere year

The piece was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at Tanglewood, on July 5, 2026, at 2:30 PM, and was conducted by Karen Kamensek with baritone Zachary James as soloist; the performance commemorated the United States' 250th Anniversary and also included Copland's Lincoln Portrait (1942) narrated by Alec Baldwin, and a suite from John Williams's score for the film Lincoln.[21][22]

The symphony had its West Coast premiere at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music on July 31, 2026; it was conducted by Cristian Macelaru with baritone Zachary James as soloist.[23][24][25]

The piece will be premiered in New York by conductor Dennis Russell Davies, solo baritone Zachary James, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, at Carnegie Hall, on Glass's 90th birthday, January 31, 2027.[26] The New York performance was titled the "Philip Glass: The 90th Birthday Concert," and will also include Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1 and sections from Glass's opera The Voyage.[27][28]

A subsequent performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is scheduled at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on June 4 and 6, 2027, conducted by Jonathan Leshnoff.[29][30][31]

Instrumentation and form

The symphony was orchestrated for solo baritone, two flutes (one flute doubling on piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets and one bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones and one bass trombone, one tuba, four percussionists, two harps, one pianist doubling on piano and celesta, and string orchestra.[32]

The piece is approximately 35 minutes long and consists of 8 movements.[22][4] Movement 1 is titled "Lyceum Address, Part 1," and is to be sung by the baritone; Movement 2 is titled "Lyceum Address, Part 2," and is to be spoken by the baritone; and Movement 3 is untitled and left out of the libretto. Movement 4 is titled "Autobiography Part 1," and Movement 5 is titled "Autobiography Part 2." They are both to be spoken and sung and were likely inspired by Lincoln's Autobiographical Sketch from 1864.[17] Movement 6 is titled "Slavery," Movement 7 is titled "The End of War," and Movement 8 is titled "Farewell Address." All 3 of those movements are to be both spoken and sung by the baritone.[33]

Reception

According to Jonathan Blumhofer of the Boston Classical Review, the symphony was not groundbreaking in terms of musicality and instead consisted of "arpeggiated gestures and layering of subtle metric dissonances." He stated that while this style- which had been Glass's "hallmark" for the prior 50 years- was effective, it failed to greatly emphasize the changes in tone during the piece's dramatic moments. Later in the review, he added that unstated moments in the piece were "enhanced by the essentially unflashy nature of Glass’s setting" before complimenting the composition's instrumentation, lyricism, and playfulness.[34]

According to A. Z. Madonna of The Boston Globe, the composition "sounds like a Glass symphony" due to the use of "cycling arpeggios" and "ruminating chords." She adds that the piece differentiates from Glass's other works in that the soloist alternates between narrating and singing, in rough chronological order, with the actual writings and speeches used in the symphony. In the review's following paragraph, she states that the orchestra acts like a "static backdrop" to the soloist, but also how, due to the cutoffs in several of the piece's movements, it sounded unfinished and "caused the piece to lose sonic momentum except when the cutoff dovetailed into James speaking."[35]

On the piece's premiere, Clarence Fanto of The Berkshire Eagle stated that while premieres by the Boston Symphony weren't rare, "Sunday's first performance of Symphony No. 15, 'Lincoln,' by Philip Glass was especially weighty and, dare we say, historic."[36]

Premiere conductor Karen Kamensek stated that when hearing the piece, she "heard it as four columns of sound." Following this, she stated that those were the "columns that our society is built on," interpreting them as human morals and values that people can view differently from one another.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Italie, Hillel (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass cancels Kennedy Center symphony premiere in protest of Trump's leadership". AP News. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Nagourney, Adam (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass Withdraws From Kennedy Center, as Its Symphony Vows to Play On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  3. ↑ Lukpat, Alyssa (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass Withdraws Symphony From Kennedy Center". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Cohen, Rena; Devereux, Jan (March 3, 2026). "Boston Symphony Orchestra to Perform Philip Glass' New Symphony No 15". BSO. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  5. ↑ Towfighi, Michaela (February 3, 2026). "From 'Hamilton' to Issa Rae to Philip Glass: Here's a List of Kennedy Center Cancellations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Tsioulcas, Anastasia (July 6, 2026). "Philip Glass' new symphony premieres at Tanglewood after Kennedy Center cancellation". NPR. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  7. ↑ Madonna, A. Z. (May 15, 2026). "Inside the 'Lincoln' symphony that Philip Glass pulled from Trump's Kennedy Center - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ Braine, Theresa (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass yanks symphony world premiere from Kennedy Center lineup". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  9. ↑ Blistein, Jon (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass Cancels 'Lincoln' Symphony Premiere at Kennedy Center". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  10. ↑ Yang, Maya (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass withdraws world premiere of his Lincoln symphony from Kennedy Center". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  11. ↑ Calderon, Riley (January 28, 2026). "Philip Glass Cancels Kennedy Center Debut of Symphony No. 15". FilmoGaz. Archived from the original on January 27, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ Litman, Harry (January 26, 2026). "Trump's Too Dumb to Know, but Philip Glass's Symphony Is About Him". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  13. ↑ Walsh, Joe (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass withdraws premiere of new symphony from Kennedy Center, saying values are in "direct conflict" - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  14. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass Pulls Symphony From Kennedy Center - Washingtonian". Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  15. ↑ Iyer, Kaanita (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass withdraws his 'Lincoln' symphony from the Kennedy Center, citing conflicting values | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  16. ↑ Gelt, Jessica (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass cancels Kennedy Center premiere of 'Lincoln' symphony amid massive upheaval". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  17. 1 2 Brodeur, Michael (January 27, 2026). "Philip Glass pulls world premiere from Kennedy Center". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  18. ↑ Italie, Hillel (March 4, 2026). "Robert De Niro delivers Lincoln's civility warning at a Carnegie Hall benefit". NBC News. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  19. ↑ Italie, Hillel (March 2, 2026). "A canceled Kennedy Center debut, a Carnegie Hall stage and De Niro reading 'Lincoln'". AP News. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  20. ↑ Scott, Katie (March 4, 2026). "Robert De Niro recites Abraham Lincoln's warning call for 'civility' at Carnegie Hall". Global News. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  21. ↑ Lebrecht, Norman (March 4, 2026). "Glass symphony is moved from Trump's DC to Kennedy's Boston". Retrieved March 26, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. 1 2 "Philip Glass symphony withdrawn in protest will premiere in Tanglewood | Bachtrack". bachtrack.com. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Announces 26 Season". April 7, 2026. Archived from the original on April 17, 2026. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  24. ↑ Michael Zweibach (August 4, 2026). "At Cabrillo, Contemporary Composers Have Something to Say". Classical Voice. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  25. ↑ Christina Waters (July 22, 2026). "Cabrillo's experimental music festival's utopian vision". Good Times Santa Cruz. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Artists who left Trump-Kennedy Center to headline new season at Carnegie Hall". syracuse. February 5, 2026. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Philip Glass: The 90th Birthday Concert". carnegiehall.org. Retrieved February 27, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ↑ Ragusa, Paolo (May 27, 2026). "Philip Glass Announces Worldwide 90th Birthday Season". Consequence. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  29. ↑ Case, Wesley (February 24, 2026). "After Kennedy Center exit, Philip Glass to bring new symphony home to Baltimore". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  30. ↑ McCauley, Mary (February 25, 2026). "BSO to perform Philip Glass' controversial 'Lincoln' symphony next year". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  31. ↑ Shulze, Talia (February 26, 2026). "Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Announces 2026-27 Season". Symphony. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Symphony No. 15 'Lincoln' (2025)". Wise Classical Music. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  33. ↑ Glass, Philip. "Symphony No. 15 – Philip Glass". Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  34. ↑ Jonathan, Blumhofer (July 6, 2026). "Boston Classical Review » Blog Archive » BSO gives Glass's "Lincoln" Symphony a noble sendoff at Tanglewood". bostonclassicalreview.com. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  35. ↑ Madonna, A. Z. (July 7, 2026). "Boston Symphony Orchestra premieres new Philip Glass symphony at Tanglewood after Kennedy Center cancellation". The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  36. ↑ Fanto, Clarence (July 6, 2026). "TANGLEWOOD REVIEW: Boston Symphony gives Philip Glass' 'Lincoln' a radiant world premiere". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
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