*The Violinist *
This is interesting:
*Violinist in the Metro--- Wash, DC
*
*
*
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to
play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played
six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time,
since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of
people went through the station, most of them on their way
to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man
noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and
stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his
schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first
dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without
stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone
leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked
at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late
for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy.
His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to
look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and
the child continued to walk turning his head all the time.
This action was repeated by several other children. All the
parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped
and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but
continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When
he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed
it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of
the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most
intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5
million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold
out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the
metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part
of a social experiment about perception, taste and
priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace
environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in
an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the
best musicians in the world playing the best music ever
written, how many other things are we missing?
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