The following extract from an earlier email was sent in an email I got today – I just loved the irony of it!
A man sat at a subway station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, about one 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 a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, but then hurried on to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money without stopping.
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 dragged 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 was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
During 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 no one noticed. No one applauded.
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 where seats average $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, tastes 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 talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions 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?
Well… I’m sure I would have heard the music but not done much more than that… and you??
Fri, Feb 27, 2009
Something to ponder