[lurkingforacure]

"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 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 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 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?

Wishing you a new year that brings unexpected beauty from everyday life! Don't forget to "smell the roses" every day!"

Here's the link of Joshua actually playing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

[paula_w]

Happy New Year and I see the message and agree with our need for lots of beauty - also interpreted it as I do most things nowadays...with cynicism Our beauty, or some might call it "worth", is measured and determined by the price tag attached. Who would play the violin at a train station and be of much value?

On the other hand, could the musician, Joshua Bell, have picked a place more likely to result in "failure to perceive him". People do go to metro stations just before going somewhere don't they?

He should try again..lol
p

adding sorry to sound negative to you...i think i was reading it as science [out of habit] and and went into automatic.

[ZucchiniFlower]

I think the experiment is unfair. It should be done outside of a train station where people are in a hurry and often need to make bus connections.

I really do need to catch the next train to arrive and I really do need to walk to the end of the platform before getting on to save time and get a seat. If I miss a train it may take 15 minutes for the next one. On the way home, that means missing my bus.

I've noticed some wonderful musicians in the station, but they sit a city block away from where I need to walk.

I suppose I could give myself extra time to get to work, but that's not going to happen.

A vacation day or day off would be very different. I've purchased CD's before.