Interesting read *old*

Hey Guys

probably most of you have read this story already since its quiet old, however i still believe its worth sharing and that it tells a lot about our society, enjoy

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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 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 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 top 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.

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 the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

interdasting

LP =/= Facebook.

Thanks for sharing. I have read this story before but enjoyed reading it again.

When people are on their way to work, I'm sure they are focused on arriving there in time. If the same guy were playing in a park where people were having some leisure time there would probably be a large crowd around him. I've appreciated some street artists' works and thought that what they were doing is awesome, I just couldn't stay around.

Hmm, You know there is a video of this and its NOT exactly like what you described?? There was even a person who did recognize him and there were SEVERAL people who stoped and listened to him for some moments and it was even an edited video.

Edit watch the video I posted

Thanks for sharing capaneo

lol you got capaneowned

On February 07 2012 09:46 uiCk wrote: LP =/= Facebook.

This. It's not 9gag either

This was posted here a while ago and I remember the thread turned to shit... can't find the thread somehow tho. I vaguely remember some ridiculous opinions about it. That video is one of the saddest things I've seen up to this day.

On February 07 2012 10:08 capaneo wrote: Hmm, You know there is a video of this and its NOT exactly like what you described?? There was even a person who did recognize him and there were SEVERAL people who stoped and listened to him for some moments and it was even an edited video. Edit watch the video I posted

several = ~ 10 over 10k people?

On February 07 2012 09:46 uiCk wrote: LP =/= Facebook.

+2

I remember the story but was kinda different, people started arguing about it was not FB or 9gag to talk about those things instead of watching the video and enjoy it.

On February 07 2012 13:04 c4rnage wrote: I remember the story but was kinda different, people started arguing about it was not FB or 9gag to talk about those things instead of watching the video and enjoy it.

It's about as enjoyable to watch as watching animal cruelty. It's a tragic video to watch for a music lover.

On February 07 2012 13:11 Loco wrote: Show nested quote + On February 07 2012 13:04 c4rnage wrote: I remember the story but was kinda different, people started arguing about it was not FB or 9gag to talk about those things instead of watching the video and enjoy it. It's about as enjoyable to watch as watching animal cruelty. It's a tragic video to watch for a music lover.

well yes... maybe i should had said "just listen" instead of watch it.

Cool story. 4.5 stars. Would read again.

to all the whiny faggots about LP =/= social media: fuck you

On February 07 2012 13:14 c4rnage wrote: Show nested quote + On February 07 2012 13:11 Loco wrote:   On February 07 2012 13:04 c4rnage wrote: I remember the story but was kinda different, people started arguing about it was not FB or 9gag to talk about those things instead of watching the video and enjoy it. It's about as enjoyable to watch as watching animal cruelty. It's a tragic video to watch for a music lover. well yes... maybe i should had said "just listen" instead of watch it.

Yes, I could presume that was probably what you meant. Agreed.

"Bach's music is the only argument proving the creation of the Universe cannot be regarded a complete failure" - E.M. Cioran

A Czech magazine once did the opposite - a guy who never played any instrument had a 2 hour crash course in Sax and then went on playing publicly :D

He made above average hourly