A true story, and some serious food for thought!
“A man sat at 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 tugged
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 foremost
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever
written on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing
in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre 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 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?”
..
Tags: beauty, joshua bell, Music, spirituality, violin
