The Kennedy Center Honors on Thursday announced its honorees for 2016 with recognition going to Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, musical group the Eagles, actor Al Pacino, singer Mavis Staples and musician James Taylor.
The honour for the Eagles in particular will be bittersweet, as founding member Glenn Frey died in January. The group was scheduled to be honoured in 2015 but postponed due to Frey’s declining health. Band members Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit are expected to attend the ceremony.
“The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates the spectacular talents of artists whose brilliance has left a lasting impact on our society,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said in a statement. “These honorees represent what is possible when creativity is not just cultivated, but unleashed.”
“These honorees have each played a unique role in shaping America’s artistic landscape with their work, expressing their creativity in ways that pushed the boundaries of what art can do, and what it can mean,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, also in a statement. “Their artistic triumphs have motivated us, moved us and will continue to inspire us for generations to come.”
Honorees are recognised for lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts — whether in dance, music, theatre, opera, motion pictures or television. The event includes a celebration at the Kennedy Center Opera House, with salutes from other performers. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are scheduled to attend, as well as receive the honorees at the White House.
Among the very earliest Kennedy Center honorees were such figures as Fred Astaire, George Balanchine, Richard Rodgers, Aaron Copland, Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Fonda, Martha Graham, Tennessee Williams and Leonard Bernstein. Honoured in 2015 were Carole King, George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa and Cicely Tyson.
The honorees will be celebrated at a gala on December 3 that will be broadcast on December 27 on CBS, which has aired the special each year since its debut 39 years ago.
