I saw Joshua Bell play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in Austin about 10 years ago. He is worth stopping for!
Kirby McDaniel On Dec 12, 2009, at 2:32 PM, Bruce Hershenson wrote: > I was forwarded this by a good friend (I hope you can spare a minute to read > it): > > What are we missing? > > Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. A violinist > played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 > thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. > After 3 minutes a middle aged man not...iced there was a musician playing.. > He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his > schedule. > > 4 minutes later:the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the > money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk. > > 6 minutes:A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked > at his watch and started to walk again. > > 10 minutes:A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along > hurriedly, as 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. Every parent, without > exception, forced them to move on. > > 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. > > 1hour:He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one > applauded, nor was there any recognition. > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > Comment: 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, Joshua > Bell had sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $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 people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common > place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop > to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? > > One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:If we do not > have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world > playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful > instruments ..... then how many other things are we missing? > > P.S. I verified this story as true on Snopes > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
