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If you had a chance to hear one of the world's finest violinists for free on your way to work, would you recognize greatness? Would you stop? Would you drop some money in his hat?
Joshua Bell performed last January in Washington DC at the L'Enfant Plaza station during the morning rush hour. Incredibly, only one person recognized him. Very few people stopped to linger. No one applauded. He played some of the world's most acclaimed classical compositions, on an extremely rare and valuable Stradivarius violin, for one hour.
His reward in dollars and cents: $32.17. Of that total, $20.00 came from the lone fan who actually recognized him. Yes, people tossed pennies.
The Washington Post was worried that the crowd that could potentially gather as a result of their stunt might pose a security problem, if the mass of pedestrian traffic was blocked. They expected that government workers might prove to be sophisticated enough to recognize the extraordinary free show. It never happened. It turns out that people on their way to work have little to no time to deviate from schedules.
Art without a context framing it may prove to be a humbling experience.
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
Joshua Bell performed last January in Washington DC at the L'Enfant Plaza station during the morning rush hour. Incredibly, only one person recognized him. Very few people stopped to linger. No one applauded. He played some of the world's most acclaimed classical compositions, on an extremely rare and valuable Stradivarius violin, for one hour.
His reward in dollars and cents: $32.17. Of that total, $20.00 came from the lone fan who actually recognized him. Yes, people tossed pennies.
The Washington Post was worried that the crowd that could potentially gather as a result of their stunt might pose a security problem, if the mass of pedestrian traffic was blocked. They expected that government workers might prove to be sophisticated enough to recognize the extraordinary free show. It never happened. It turns out that people on their way to work have little to no time to deviate from schedules.
Art without a context framing it may prove to be a humbling experience.
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com