A VIOLINIST IN THE METRO
A 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
forty-five 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 three year old boy. His
mother tugged him along hurriedly 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 time the musician played, only six people stopped and stayed for a
while - about twenty 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 theatre in Boston and the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was
organised by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about
perception, taste and priorities of people.