A Violinist in the Metro

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  • kassios
    Platinum Poster
    • Jun 2004
    • 1200

    A Violinist in the Metro

    Don't know if this is a repost but this made me think what else are we missing out

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

    read the story while listening to the link above.....it will make you think



    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 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 average $100.00 each.

    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 some of the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
    http://soundcloud.com/concept-sheep
  • feather
    Shanghai ooompa loompa
    • Jul 2004
    • 20896

    #2
    Re: A Violinist in the Metro

    Cool experiment, there was a good writeup on this somewhere.

    i_want_to_have_sex_with_electronic_music

    Originally posted by Hoff
    a powerful and insane mothership that occasionally comes commanded by the real ones .. then suck us and makes us appear in the most magical of all lands
    Originally posted by m1sT3rL
    Oh. My. God. James absolutely obliterated the island tonight. The last time there was so much destruction, Obi Wan Kenobi had to take a seat on the Falcon after the Death Star said "hi and bye" to Leia's homeworld.

    I got pics and video. But I will upload them in the morning. I need to smoke this nice phat joint and just close my eyes and replay the amazingness in my head.

    Comment

    • Steve Graham
      DJ Jelly
      • Jun 2004
      • 12887

      #3
      Re: A Violinist in the Metro

      that's so true

      reminds me of a very good line from Ferris Beuller

      "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"

      Comment

      • floridaorange
        I'm merely a humble butler
        • Dec 2005
        • 29116

        #4
        Re: A Violinist in the Metro

        that is a repost and a great 1 to repost at that imo!

        It was fun while it lasted...

        Comment

        • feather
          Shanghai ooompa loompa
          • Jul 2004
          • 20896

          #5
          Re: A Violinist in the Metro

          Here's the write up on Washington Post.

          i_want_to_have_sex_with_electronic_music

          Originally posted by Hoff
          a powerful and insane mothership that occasionally comes commanded by the real ones .. then suck us and makes us appear in the most magical of all lands
          Originally posted by m1sT3rL
          Oh. My. God. James absolutely obliterated the island tonight. The last time there was so much destruction, Obi Wan Kenobi had to take a seat on the Falcon after the Death Star said "hi and bye" to Leia's homeworld.

          I got pics and video. But I will upload them in the morning. I need to smoke this nice phat joint and just close my eyes and replay the amazingness in my head.

          Comment

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