This story has been making the rounds for almost two years now: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR200704040 1721.html>.
It's still interesting, so thanks for posting, Ron. Best, Eugene > -----Original Message----- > From: Ron Fletcher [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 12:08 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Thought Provoking > > Slightly off topic, but I thought I should share this recent message... > > Subject: Thought Provoking > > > A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the > violin; it was a cold December morning. He played six Bach pieces for > about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was > calculated that a thousand 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 on her > way. > > > A few minutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen to him, > but he 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 > urged him along, 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? > > > May the new year bring unexpected beauty from everyday life! > > -- > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
