A Violinist in the Metro

As a New Year’s greeting I sent all my friends a touching, revealing and thought-provoking story which I had received from Carole Roy who is working with me on the film about the Raging Grannies. It says a lot about how we live and it certainly made me think, because on most days I would have behaved just like the people in the story.

I got a lot of responses to my message. At the end, a comment from filmmaker (‘His Excellency’) Jean-Daniel Lafond. Jennifer Alleyn – one of those people who would have stopped and listened, I’m sure – sent me the whole original story from the Washington Post. As usual, Jorge Bustos-Estefan helped with the blog.

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 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand 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 an 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?

A frame from the surveillance camera in the D.C. metro.

A Comment from Jean-Daniel Lafond (my translation):

‘When beauty and culture become merchandise, it is no longer a matter of life but of property. Things are valued for their price and their wrapping. It becomes a matter of ownership. When, on the other hand, beauty is given as a gift, it becomes a shared resource, as essential as the air we breathe. This, I imagine, is what a three-year old child responds to. ‘

‘Quand la beauté comme la culture est une marchandise, elle relève de l’avoir et non plus de l’être. On la reconnaît à son prix et à l’emballage. C’est une valeur de possession. Alors que la beauté se donne en partage, elle est une valeur commune, aussi essentielle que l’air que l’on respire. Ce qu’un enfant de trois ans peut sans doute ressentir.’
Bonne année.
JD

Listen to Bell’s full metro performance here.
Read the full story from the Washington Post here.

Thanks to Jorge Bustos-Estefan for help with this blog.