Following Kennedy Center Cancelation, Philip Glass’ ‘Lincoln’ Symphony Set for Boston Symphony Orchestra Premiere
By David Salazar(Credit: By Pasquale Salerno)
The Boston Symphony Orchestra will give the world premiere of Philip Glass‘s Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” on July 5 at 2:30 p.m. at Tanglewood.
The eight-movement symphony is conducted by Karen Kamensek, with baritone Zachary James as soloist — both making their Tanglewood debuts. The work draws on some of Lincoln’s most significant texts, opening with excerpts from his 1838 Lyceum Address, delivered at age 28 amid a nationwide surge in mob violence, and moving through his 1861 Farewell Address, the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, and the final public address Lincoln gave three days before his assassination.
Glass said, “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 center 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. I look forward to hearing the symphony for the first time at Tanglewood.”
The piece was originally set to premiere at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but that performance was canceled by Glass himself who stated that “the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony.”
The July 5 program also includes Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with a yet-to-be-announced celebrity narrator and selections from John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film Lincoln.
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