Interesting thought

[WinkHPD]

My wife sent me this. I have no idea if it is urban legend or truth, I don''t really care, I just like the thought....

Wink

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin?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 hat 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. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but 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 their children?to move on quickly.
45 minutes:
The?musician played continuously.? Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.? The man?collected a total of $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 greatest 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 true 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 this
?
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 ever made....
?
How many other things are we missing?

 

[Moh 10]

Yes I had heard this.

One reasons is classical music is dying in America.
Fewer people recognize or care about Bach's masterpieces and do not recognize raw talent without stages, lights, editing and video production values.

Also there is the problem of music is only legit if it comes from a famous person, and they don't hang out in subways with their violin case open.

I am fighting this.
I started taking serious piano lessons, classical about 11 years ago.

I host piano parties in my home for local musicians and music lovers.
We take turns playing piano, then enjoy a food and wine potluck.
Many guests bring their kids.

It is the most magical thing.
Everyone loves these things and they linger late into the night.

I am trying to turn the clock back to the time before electricity put an end to home-made music.

I encourage all of you to organize similar events in your home.
Kids have to learn that you don't have to be a famous musician to make cool music.

 

[Upgradable]

Date: 8/14/2009 8:56:20 PM
Author: Moh 10
Yes I had heard this.

One reasons is classical music is dying in America.
Fewer people recognize or care about Bach''s masterpieces and do not recognize raw talent without stages, lights, editing and video production values.

Also there is the problem of music is only legit if it comes from a famous person, and they don''t hang out in subways with their violin case open.

I am fighting this.
I started taking serious piano lessons, classical about 11 years ago.

I host piano parties in my home for local musicians and music lovers.
We take turns playing piano, then enjoy a food and wine potluck.
Many guests bring their kids.

It is the most magical thing.
Everyone loves these things and they linger late into the night.

I am trying to turn the calendar back the clock to the time before electricity put an end to home-made music.

I encourage all of you to organize similar events in your home.

Moh- I agree with you 100%, however I think this phenomenon extends far beyond music! Especially in America, we are so wrapped up within ourselves, tied to our own frantic internal timetable or "to do" list that we have trained ourselves out of appreciating beauty in the world around us.

I too fight this, not just for myself, but for my children. Ignoring or denying the beauty that surrounds us implicitly means that our own beauty is being ignored by ourselves and others.

 

[trillionaire]

I was listening to Joshua Bell playing at the Kennedy Center on Public Television the other day, and thought of this article.

I sent it to FI last year and we talked about it. I definitely would have stopped. I also want to appreciate the arts more.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9521098

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

 

[Cehrabehra]

Living in and traveling around europe I got to see many street performers and my kids gave some money to a few but for the most part I didn''t stop. I did appreciate it however... I did record some of them from afar for a bit... but mostly I just soaked it in and enjoyed it for the ambiance. I didn''t need to think *about* it but I was so glad to have it in the background filling in another of my senses

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/14/2009 8:56:20 PM
Author: Moh 10

I host piano parties in my home for local musicians and music lovers.
We take turns playing piano, then enjoy a food and wine potluck.
Many guests bring their kids.

It is the most magical thing.
Everyone loves these things and they linger late into the night.

These musical parties sound wonderful. They are, however, the polar opposite of the setting allegedly created by, "The Washington Post" and Joshua Bell. In the latter case the setting was a cold metro station in winter when people who had to get to their jobs were trying to get to them.

I do not know if I would have wanted to stop in the cold when I was under stress about getting to work on time. I think it is unrealistic to think that a human being can always be so relaxed that he can stop and smell the roses. Some days I feel lucky if I can get out of bed and complete my daily chores.

I can best appreciate music and the company of family if everyone is healthy, warm, well-fed and comfortable. Singing Christmas carols around the piano often works for us. The year our cousins from Italy spent Christmas with us and Allessandra (a concert class pianist) played our second rate piano was probably the best musically! When the kids were little they would take out their flutes or clarinets or cellos and play together, too.


AGBF

 

[lyra]

I always stop for musicians. Heck, not only have I donated money, I often buy their CD's if they have them (some do). I'm pretty supportive of music really. I may not have known who the musician was in this case, but I would not have been able to turn away, I get very emotional about classical music or even people singing live. Makes my heart race being so close to a live performance.

Also: I would consider it rude to walk away before they were finished...

 

[somethingshiny]

This just made me think of something I read the other day.

It basically said that the people who live in these modern times (us) don''t/can''t recognize beauty in many arts. And, in that same manner, most cannot create true beauty.

I don''t know if I agree with it, but this thread seems to follow it.

 

[omieluv]

There could be a number of reasons why people do not stop, but that does not necessarily mean they did not appreciate what they heard. For instance, there have been many times when I have been a hurry in the city and breezed past street muscians, but enjoyed their music as I dashed by and wished I was able to stop for a moment or two to listen (at least to the good muscians). I own many CD's of many types of music and part of what is nice about music is that I can listen to it while doing other things. Does one need to stop what they are doing to appreciate what they are listening to?

 

[radiantquest]

I read that before actually. A couple years ago i think. I think it is very interesting also. Amazing that people don''t see the beauty in the music because of the packaging (location, time, etc). I think the most intersting part is that the kids did notice it. I guess because they aren''t jaded like adults thinking about schedules and bills and all the other things that go on in a busy adult life.

 

[gwendolyn]

I always notice a good street musician and stop if I can, because I am a musician myself, and music grabs me. Obviously I can''t say for sure, but I think I probably would''ve stopped for this guy if only because really good violinists are hard to come by, and no setting can take away from the flying fingers, perfect intonation and heartbreakingly beautiful musicality and tone of a masterful violinist.

 

[kas baby]

Date: 8/15/2009 3:12:07 PM
Author: gwendolyn
I always notice a good street musician and stop if I can, because I am a musician myself, and music grabs me. Obviously I can''t say for sure, but I think I probably would''ve stopped for this guy if only because really good violinists are hard to come by, and no setting can take away from the flying fingers, perfect intonation and heartbreakingly beautiful musicality and tone of a masterful violinist.

well said! I personaly am not a musician but have sung in choirs for many years... there is just something about good music that grabs me. I get so wrapped up in it. We live in the Port Huron area and can sometimes pick up the canadian stations- there is one that plays orchestral all day and that''s what I listen to on my way to class or running to do chores. It makes my drive so much more enjoyable and expands my knowledge of different composers. Either that station or my choir CD''s (My fav composer is Eric Whitacre

you tube his stuff!)