This article is a couple of years old and it’s long, but it’s worth reading, and I especially encourage my musician friends to check it out. It is if anything, extremely interesting.
I’ll give you a synopsis: basically the Washington Post posed the question, could a world class musician, playing some of the most inspired (and difficult) music ever written, slow down the commuters on their way to work? Or has the pace of American life become so hectic that the arts, no matter how fine, take a back seat to daily life? To test this, the Washington Post talked world class Violinist and ex-child prodigy Joshua Bell into playing in a unassuming D.C. Metro station during the morning rush.
And so it went, one of the worlds preeminent musicians, literally one of the best on the planet, played his 3.5 MILLION dollar violin at a level of excellence you’d normally have to pay hundreds to see (and those are the cheap seats) in a Metro station for free! So what happened? Well, just about everyone ignored him. Now, do I know the name Joshua Bell? Yes. Would I recognize him in person? Nope.
BUT, I’d like to think that I’d recognize talent of his caliber and have to stop and listen. In the article they have clips of what transpired and you don’t have to know anything about music, to know what and how he is playing is far and above amazing. You’re lucky if a street performer can fiddle out his or her version of the Super Mario Bros theme song, much less play the pieces Bell does. I can’t tell you how many times Buck or Bill, who don’t know the first thing about playing music, have pointed out a truly special musical talent to me, So not being a musician is really no excuse.
Anyway if you have the time, read the article, if nothing else click the link and check out the videos, it’s really very interesting and a bit sad too. Moral to the story? Beware what street performers you ignore, they may literally the world best musician in disguise!
What an interesting article. I listened to the music first, I am not familiar with this artist. What a shame that so many people were oblivious to such genius. I also stop to listen to street musicians, you never know. I have on one occasion helped out with the correct lyrics to a song!