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Cover Story |
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An Eye for Detail, an Ear for Excellence |
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A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC in the rush hour and started playing the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed down and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip from a woman who went after throwing the money in the till. A few minutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen to him, but then he looked at his watch and started walking again. Clearly, he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a three-year old boy. His mother tagged him along and 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 six 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. Who was the violinist? Why was he there?
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, seats were sold at an average of $100 in a theatre at Boston where he had a concert. 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 implications were: Do we perceive beauty in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour? What will make us take a pause and appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? How can we develop an eye for detail, an ear for excellence (Ed.)?
Source: urbanlegends.about.com/od/music/a/violinist_metro.htm |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 20(1), 2009 |
