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You may have read this story about the violin player at a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.
A man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After three 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 later
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes later
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. He 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 later
The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour later
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 larger question is this: why do we not value beauty enough to stop and enjoy it? Think of what we might be missing.
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