| |
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
by Rattle at 3:20 am EDT, Apr 12, 2007 |
By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play. No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?
Joshua Bell graces the DC Metro, and almost no one notices. This is an amazing read. |
| |
RE: Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
by flynn23 at 12:41 pm EDT, Apr 12, 2007 |
Rattle wrote: By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play. No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?
Joshua Bell graces the DC Metro, and almost no one notices. This is an amazing read.
This happens all the time. Context is everything. How many times have you ended up with a girl out of your league cuz you were introduced with a fantastic setup versus the stale pick up line you used at the bar after you finished washing your car that Saturday? It's the reason why celebrities even exist. |
|
| |
RE: Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
by Palindrome at 9:05 pm EDT, Apr 12, 2007 |
Rattle wrote:
Joshua Bell graces the DC Metro, and almost no one notices. This is an amazing read.
I am not surprised that no one noticed. If we all really thing about it and even ourselves in those situation unless you were really into Violin or you knew the artist you would probably react much the same way. I am surprised by his reaction "It was a strange feeling, that people were actually, ah . . ." The word doesn't come easily. ". . . ignoring me." Bell is laughing. It's at himself. "At a music hall, I'll get upset if someone coughs or if someone's cellphone goes off. But here, my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgment, even a slight glance up. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change." This is from a man whose talents can command $1,000 a minute. Before he began, Bell hadn't known what to expect. What he does know is that, for some reason, he was nervous. "It wasn't exactly stage fright, but there were butterflies," he says. "I was stressing a little." Bell has played, literally, before crowned heads of Europe. Why the anxiety at the Washington Metro? "When you play for ticket-holders," Bell explains, "you are already validated. I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I'm already accepted. Here, there was this thought: What if they don't like me? What if they resent my presence . . ."
|
|
Pearls Before Breakfast
by noteworthy at 10:13 am EDT, Apr 12, 2007 |
By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play. No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?
Joshua Bell graces the DC Metro, and almost no one notices. This is an amazing read. See the follow-up thread, as well, for a longer recording of Bell. |
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
by bucy at 4:21 pm EDT, Apr 12, 2007 |
By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play. No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?
<a href= |
Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
by dmv at 3:00 pm EDT, Mar 23, 2009 |
repeat: The story of virtuoso Joshua Bell playing at a DC Metro station. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play
Two years later, this is still a stunning piece of writing (and quite a story). Was worth the time to re-read it. I had not seen the videos before, which include the music. I'm honest enough to admit that I'm not sure I would stop or notice. |
There is a redundant post from ubernoir not displayed in this view.
|
|
