Digging in the Crates

Florence Price, Karen Slack, and a few thoughts towards redefining "rediscovered"

Back in October 2020, I was on a Zoom call with Karen Slack, discussing her appearance in a socially-distanced performance of Beethoven’s Egmont (and obsessing over her Bridget Riley-esque glasses). Being that it was October 2020, the timing was ripe for a revival of Beethoven’s work about the pursuit of justice and freedom against authoritarianism. It was a natural springboard to discuss, in the year of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, the push to broaden the canon beyond the same composers who are programmed year after year.

“Young musicians are really pissed off with these organizations and these institutions, that they've been denied the opportunity to study and to perform these unheard works,” she said at the time, “and I’m finding it very fascinating that these young musicians are like, No, I'm not gonna do the top ten.”

To that end, one thing that stuck with me from my interview with Slack had nothing to do with Beethoven, Egmont, or even despotism. It had to do with Showbiz & A.G.…