What the Kennedy Center Might Have Become: A Vision for a National Cultural Center

Joseph Horowitz ponders the unfulfilled promise of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, speculating on how it might have thrived with different leadership. He recalls that Jackie Kennedy encouraged Leonard Bernstein to be the inaugural artistic director; although he initially accepted, he later turned it down. Established after the National Cultural Center Act of 1958, the center was meant to be a premier venue for both American and international arts, yet its National Symphony functions merely as a local orchestra. Horowitz believes a national symphony is essential for safeguarding American musical traditions. He contrasts this with Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic, which actively engages with American composers like Charles Ives. Also mentioned is Nicolas Nabokov, who aspired to transform the center into an American version of the Edinburgh Festival, but the position went to baritone George London instead. Ultimately, the center fell short of achieving the global renown Nabokov envisioned or the American-centric focus Bernstein would have championed. Horowitz advocates for a national theater and ballet company, recalling the Suzanne Farrell Ballet's residency from 2000 to 2017. He references Doug McLennan, who argues that the Kennedy Center symbolizes America's gap in cultural leadership. The piece concludes by suggesting that a more engaged White House arts initiative under Bernstein and the Kennedys could have established a genuine national cultural hub.