Lizzo weeps tears of joy as flautist hero James Galway plays her a Christmas carol

28 December 2022, 11:53

Lizzo cries as Sir James Galway wishes her a Merry Christmas

Superstar singer and flautist Lizzo received a seasonal greeting from her musical idol, and it brought so much Christmas joy.

From one great flautist to another – Irish virtuoso Sir James Galway has wished US pop superstar Lizzo a merry Christmas, declaring himself her “number one fan”.

Sir James, known as ‘the man with the golden flute’ and widely regarded the world’s first flute superstar, sent Lizzo a video in which he plays ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ surrounded by festive décor. Following the few bars of music, the 83-year-old adds: “Merry Christmas, Lizzo, from your number one fan!”

On Instagram Stories, Lizzo reacted to the message saying, “YALL – SIR James Galway wished ME a merry Christmas”, following the video with a clip of her wiping back tears.

Posting the video again to Twitter, Lizzo declared Sir James’ message “the greatest gift” this Christmas.

The American singer and flautist proclaimed herself a “band geek” in an interview for CBS News in 2019, adding that when she began learning to the play the flute in fifth grade, she listened obsessively to Galway’s album The Man with the Golden Flute (1976).

Read more: Lizzo makes history by playing the Library of Congress’ 200-year-old crystal flute

Sir James Galway is one of the world’s best-known flautists, his recordings having sold over 30 million copies.

After playing for six years as Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan, he launched his career as a soloist and within one year had played 120 concerts.

To date, Sir James has released over 50 albums spanning a variety of styles, from Bach and Chopin to Japanese and Irish folk music, and performs on several tracks from Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In 2004, he was given the President’s Merit Award from the Recording Academy at the Grammy’s ‘Salute to Classical Music’.

In 2020, two years before his Christmas message to Lizzo, Sir James expressed his enthusiasm for her music, tweeting a video of himself playing flute and saying he was a “real fan” of Lizzo, inviting her to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with him in New York.

Read more: These are factually the 19 best pieces of flute music EVER written

Over the last few years, Lizzo has revealed her fluting prowess to the world. A classically trained flautist, she was invited in September this year to play a priceless, 200-year-old crystal flute gifted to former American president James Madison in 1813.

Following her performance on the flute at DC’s Capital One Arena, Lizzo was widely praised for her technical abilities and skill for historically informed performance, alongside her aptitude for bringing the flute into the public eye.

In December 2022, this heart-warming musical message from the man with the golden flute, to one of the world’s biggest pop stars, is a truly golden Christmas moment.