A Violinist in
the Metro
A man sat in 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
a 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 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 an 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?
WHAT DID YOU
MISS TODAY??
and here's
the link to the whole shebang...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2007/ 04/04/AR2007040401721.html
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Esportes A Violinist in
the Metro
A man sat in 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
a 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 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 an 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?
WHAT DID YOU
MISS TODAY??
and here's
the link to the whole shebang...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2007/
04/04/AR2007040401721.html
