[Land-speed] Defiantly NON-LSR The Violinist

[Bryan Savage]

             *The Violinist    *
            This is interesting:
            *Violinist in the Metro--- Wash, DC
            *
            *
            *
            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 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 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?




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