Joshua Bell is one of the world's most famous violinists. One of the things I love about him so much is his versatility: he performs in classical concerts all over the world with the most renowned orchestras on earth, but he also embraces new music and can boast a varied recording and collaborative resume. He's been part of numerous movie scores and Grammy-winning albums. Basically, Joshua Bell is "the bomb".
In 2007, Joshua was asked to be part of a cultural experiment by The Washington Post. He went to a Washington Metro station "in disguise" (wearing plain "street clothes" and a baseball cap) with his violin, during morning rush hour, found a good spot to "park" himself, and began to play. For about 45 moinutes he played some of the most beautiful classical pieces ever created by the best and most famous composers in history (on his 1713 violin worth about $3.5 million!). Did people stop and listen? Did they recognize great art happening right in front of them? Did they hurry past, perhaps annoyed that this "street musician" was in their way, or making them feel guilty for not dropping a few dollars into his violin case, in their haste to get to work? Did they make judgements about the quality of the music based on how Joshua looked (wearing street clothes) and where he was playing (in a busy metro station)?
In 2007, Joshua was asked to be part of a cultural experiment by The Washington Post. He went to a Washington Metro station "in disguise" (wearing plain "street clothes" and a baseball cap) with his violin, during morning rush hour, found a good spot to "park" himself, and began to play. For about 45 moinutes he played some of the most beautiful classical pieces ever created by the best and most famous composers in history (on his 1713 violin worth about $3.5 million!). Did people stop and listen? Did they recognize great art happening right in front of them? Did they hurry past, perhaps annoyed that this "street musician" was in their way, or making them feel guilty for not dropping a few dollars into his violin case, in their haste to get to work? Did they make judgements about the quality of the music based on how Joshua looked (wearing street clothes) and where he was playing (in a busy metro station)?
Over 1,000 people rushed by that morning, unaware that they were being seranaded by one of the most famous musicians in modern history, who regularly sells out concerts at Carnegie Hall and throughout the world! Seven people (out of 1,000) stopped to listen, and only one person recognized him. This thought-provoking experiment posed questions about how art is perceived in relation to context. Does great art shine through even when performed in less-than-ideal conditions? Do people need to be in a concert hall to appreciate great music happening in front of them? Do people take time to realize beauitful music when they hear it inconveniently?
The Washington Post experiment was published in an articled entitled "Pearls Before Breakfast" in April, 2007. One year later, in April, 2008, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The article is simply an amazing read, one that will definitely leave you thinking about art and music in a new and philosophical way. It's one of my favorite articles about music ever written, and the point of this long blog post is that you should go read it! Here's the link (click on the button) to the article. In the article you can see several video segments of Joshua playing in the metro station that morning. Great stuff! Feel free to leave any thoughts/comments/points of discussion about the article below!
The Washington Post experiment was published in an articled entitled "Pearls Before Breakfast" in April, 2007. One year later, in April, 2008, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The article is simply an amazing read, one that will definitely leave you thinking about art and music in a new and philosophical way. It's one of my favorite articles about music ever written, and the point of this long blog post is that you should go read it! Here's the link (click on the button) to the article. In the article you can see several video segments of Joshua playing in the metro station that morning. Great stuff! Feel free to leave any thoughts/comments/points of discussion about the article below!