Lizzo Makes History
Was “Lizzo plays 200 year old crystal flute on stage in DC arena” on any of your 2022 bingo cards? Because it certainly wasn’t on mine! But it happened, and us classical musicians? We are HERE FOR IT.
So what’s so special about this flute? Well for one, it’s absolutely gorgeous!
The flute was made by French flautist Claude Laurent for President James Madison’s 2nd inauguration in 1813. The president’s name is even engraved on it! It’s said that when the First Lady, Dolley Madison, had to flee the burning White House during the War of 1812, she took with her a handful of valuables including this flute. Yeah, that’s right, this instrument (allegedly) saw the burning of Washington in 1814. How crazy is that??
So how did Lizzo even find this instrument? Well it all started here:
Lizzo is actually classically trained, and dreamt of being a concert flautist before getting into rap and singing. The librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, thought the best way to showcase this collection of flutes was to invite Lizzo over to check it out—and boy did that work out really well!
Video Content Warning: mild profanity
So yes, Lizzo really did make history. She showcased an incredible part of American history while making classical music cool! We LOVE to see it.
“History is freaking cool you guys!”