Perception.
A violinist playing in the Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later
the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes
A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as 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. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
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.
1 hour
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. 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 Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where 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 people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ….
How many other things are we missing?
That was an email sent from a friend. Like a cold shower, I’m still deeply stunned.
If it can warm your heart, the video on Washington post’s youtube channel shows a women recognizing him while he is playing
If we sent a flyer to those approx 2000 people saying “come and listen to the famous Joshua Bell [potted CV attached] playing Bach”, would he still get much more than $35? Is it perception (famous violinist vs busker) or the public’s taste for Bach that is being tested?
And might it be wise also to attach a potted CV of JS Bach?
Rather than blame it on common peoples lack of appreciation, how about the stunning elitism of the artist themselves? Defining inflated values, like $3.5M for a single violin? $100 per seat? Surely you could find a fine violin for $1000, and get seats to an orchestra for $10.
If you want to think about all the moments of beauty you’re missing, just think of written data; Project Gutenberg can provide you with massive amounts of literary arts, yet you’ve hardly read any of it. It’s there waiting for you, every single second you’re connected to the Net. What’s keeping you?
Fascinating story, here’s the original article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
Wow. Just Wow. I had never, in my life, been to the site which linked to this very post. (which inevitably lead me to snopes.com just to find out it’s true! And, lead me to the original article at the Washington Post. Fantastic read. I am not even a classical music fan, but I can appreciate it for it’s beauty and timelessness. I am now listening to the full 40+ minute live audio of the event. (linked about the original article) There is something poetic about listening to such fantastic sound with an “overlay” of daily life. I am a geek, and I am on the web the majority of my time. How I missed this, I will never know. I did however, find it… albeit a few years later via your blog posting. THANK YOU! Ironically, I called my Mother and Sister to tell them to check their email, in which, I linked to the original story and asked “Read this, and call me back.” To which they responded, “I’m too busy”.
@Joe Pessimist, you do have a very valid point in your second paragraph (and a thought provoking one to boot) however I couldn’t disagree more regarding your first paragraph. At least that’s my humble opinion. If you read the original article at on the Washington Post site (yes, long, but very worth it) it does just the opposite of “…blame it on common peoples lack of appreciation.” There is a reason it’s an award-winning article. I highly recommend you read the original. Once you do, post here again I would value a good debate if we don’t still disagree. If, by chance, your comment was in regards to this blog post, I can see where you are coming from. (But, still… read the original, I think it may change your mind, or maybe not.)
Contrary to what most of the parents in the story did, I find that I notice and appreciate so many more things in life when I’m out with my (almost) 2-year-old son. He would have stood in front of the violinist in awe, potentially for the full hour. Usually I give my son some change to put in the hat before we go, and we both say thanks.