Worlds greatest Violinist, 3.5 Mill$ Strad plays street Musician

[OffWithTheirHeads]

This article is absolutely fascinating.
Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out.

By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007; Page W10

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. 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.
snip...
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?

The article is long. It has video clips. If you love music, you will love it, and maybe hate it.

link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?referrer=digg

Enjoy
Bud

[crispini]

1. Wow. Thanks for posting!

Fascinating article.

[Karenina]

5. Dupe! See: Fascinating Washington Post Article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=601233&mesg_id=601233

[SharonAnn]

15. Yes, it was a great read. How about doing that at the end of the day when

people might not be so rushed? There might've been a few more listeners.

Also, it points out that knowing something about classical music or violin music helps one better identify an artist. Because you know the difference.

Reminds me of a story Chet Atkins once told, about how he couldn't live up to his own reputation. He'd gone on a cruise under an assumed name. At the passenger's "Amateur Show" he played a couple of his famous guitar pieces and got good applause but nothing special. Afterwards, one of the passengers came up to him and said he'd really enjoyed it and "You're really good. Of course, you're not Chet Atkins, butyou're really good."

[donco6]

2. Fascinating story.

I remember being at a school banquet. A student musician had been asked to play a piece for the evening. After she'd finished playing what I thought was a truly superb piece, I applauded loudly and threw in a "Brava!" Others around me were clapping politely and wondering if I'd had tee many martoonies.

Turns out, she was a star performer from the Aspen Arts Festival, which showcases student musicians from around the world. And I almost felt embarassed for recognizing her talent. Sad.

[Mnemosyne]

3. Thank you, Bud! Music to my ears. n/t

:hi:

[babylonsister]

4. Thank you so much for posting this; I would never have read about

this experience otherwise. I am rarely near street musicians, but next time I am, I plan on paying much better attention. :)

[krispos42]

6. Oh, that's what this story was about

Somebody else posted it earlier but without all the details or teasers, so it probably fell off the front page pretty quickly.

Mental note: stop and smell the roses once in a while...

[Webster Green]

7. K&R.....amazing story!

Thanks for posting this!:hi:

[HowHasItComeToThis]

8. SAD COMMENT ON EAST COAST

USED TO BE A FERN BAR BOY MEETS GIRL BAR IN SAN FRANCISCO CALLED "HENRY AFRICA'S" WITH A PIANIST NAMED PAUL THAT PLAYED BACKGROUND MUSIC. I REMEMBER ONE FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT WHEN ALL WAS IN FULL SWING WHEN HE STARTED TO PLAY DVORAK'S FROM THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY. IT BEGAN AND FEW NOTICED, BUT AS HE PLAYED, MORE AND MORE BECAME AWARE.
AT THE END THERE WAS THENDEROUS APPLAUSE.
THIS WAS FROM A TWENTY SOMETHING CROWD.

IF YOU KNEW NORMAN FROM HENRY AFRICA'S OR EVEN BETTER, PAUL THE PIANIST, EMAIL ME.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

10. Don't know em but I've been to Henry's

nt.

[Little Wing]

16. AND IF IT WAS OUTSIDE I'D HAVE BEEN 100X MORE LIKELY

TO TOSS HIM A BUCK BECAUSE I DON'T DEAL WELL WITH A LOT OF VOLUME IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE

OH THE JUXTAPOSITION OF MY COMPLAINING ABOUT VOLUME IN ALL CAPS IS BRILLIANT! SOMEONE TOSS ME A QUARTER!

[ComerPerro]

23. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. I AM SERIES!!!111!1!11

[Pastiche423]

25. Henry Africa's on Van Ness?

Ate there often as it was close to where I lived, but don't remember a piano.

I was sad to see it close.

[Warpy]

9. The problem was the hour

He'd have gotten a far different response at the end of the work day.

Consider the average person in the station: up by an alarm, bleary eyed, coffee barely kicking in, rushed, probably running a little late, irritated at the world.

In the evening, they'd have had the time to stop, maybe listen for a few minutes instead of galloping toward a train that had just arrived, willing to wait for the next one.

I loved street musicians in Boston, but the hour had a great deal to do with how much time I had to spend listening and how much I was willing to pry loose to drop into whatever receptacle was available.

[LisaL]

11. If he played some popular melodies/songs, he probably

would have gotten more of a crowd too. Not that many people have an appreciation for classical music.

[Warpy]

27. He could have been Britney Spears in the overexposed flesh

but people would still hurry by at that hour.

[Missy Vixen]

31. You don't have to be a brainiac to listen to classical music

>Not that many people have an appreciation for classical music.<

It's too bad they don't, especially when it costs nothing to tune into a local classical radio station or pull one up on the Web. We're lucky enough to have one of the best classical stations in the country in Seattle -- http://www.king.org , and they stream 24x7 on the Web.

Classical music is the beginning of all of today's music, and the most brilliant musicians in the world perform it. Why not give it a chance? Just throwing this one out here -- what should Joshua Bell have played that morning to get more attention from the crowd? I'm thankfully happy that he didn't "dumb down". The guy who spent nine minutes listening to him will remember it for the rest of his life.

Julie

[Fovea]

12. AHHHHHHHRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Get that strad outta the freakin smog.

Insane.

[earth mom]

13. I LOVE stories like this one-Thanks for posting.

:applause:

[mainer]

14. Fascinating story! I know I would have stopped.

And I hope I would've recognized him, even with the baseball cap. If a musician's good, I always throw money in the case. They're performing honest work, and they're giving us all enjoyment.

I've done busking myself, and I think you make a lot more money playing Irish music than classical.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

17. I know I would have stopped too

Many years ago I was working for a company installing a new Copper roof on the San Francisco Opera house. To get to the bathroom, you had to pass the stage wings. One day, the S.F. symphony was practicing Chopin's #1, one of my all time favorites. I stayed in the wings for the entire piece (and pissed off my boss). When they finished, I applauded. The conductor turned and glared at me, This 20 something in a hard hat, work boots and very dirty overalls. I told him that I would probably lose my job for watching them but that it had been worth it for me. Well, the entire orchestra applauded me! That's one I'll never forget.

Speaking of being around greatness and not realizing it, My 1st wife and I went to the Trident in Sausalito for dinner. All I had was a $100.00 bill, this was back when that was real money. When the check came, they wouldn't take the $100. They were afraid it was drug money. They wanted my wife to leave her leather coat till I could come back with "untainted" money. This is for a $25.00 dinner. A guy at the next table says if I would give him a check, he would pay for our dinner. He never cashed the check but I sure wish he had. As we were leaving, the waitress asked if we knew who had paid our bill. Turns out, it was Seji Ozawa.

[spooky3]

24. both of those are great stories, as was Weingarten's article

Thanks for sharing them!

[mainer]

30. ohmigod, that's a great story about Ozawa!

I used to live in San Francisco, when Ozawa was just the "new guy" on the block. (It goes to show how old I am.)

I've been around a lot of different people. Artists, musicians, writers, doctors. I have to say that the musicians are the best people of all. You can go anywhere in the world, tell people you're a musician, and you'll be welcomed into the homes of other musicians.

[bmbmd]

21. This made me grieve.

Even if I didn't recognize him, which I assume I would not-I would have recognized perfection and beauty. I would have stopped, I would have stayed, and I would have been richer for the experience. It grieves me that those who live in our nations capitol are too busy to have souls.

[NV Whino]

18. Thanks for posting

This was great.

[entanglement]

19. Great article! To be fair to D.C., the results wouldn't have been much better anywhere else

n/t

[1monster]

20. Fascinating study on human nature, the violinist's as well as the communters.

If this guy had been playing on St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida (although that is now illegal), I'm betting that he would have raked it in as well as having a crowd that would have had the St. George Street merchants screaming in outrage that all that money (however small or large the amount) was being poured into a violin case rather than their cash registers.

[karlrschneider]

22. I wonder it things would have gone differently if he had stuck to more familiar pieces.

I'm no classical music dilletante but not ignorant of it either...I admit I never heard of that first selection, and
didn't particularly like it. It would be fun to repeat the experiment with Johnny Gimble, or someone who could
(as if) imitate Stephan Grappelli. ;-)

[caligirl]

26. Here is his web site and more music, he apparently is very nice

according to a mom of a soon to be college student who met him while visiting a prospective college on the east coast recently. thats how I learned of him.

http://www.joshuabell.com/

[high density]

28. So it proves people are in a hurry in the morning on the way to work?

This is surprising because... ???

[rasputin1952]

29. While reading through this thread, a couple of things popped into

my noggin...:)

First, the style of music played might have some importance, but I think that a violin, viola or cello played on the street, would make it irrelevant. Some Irish composition, perhaps a Southern fiddle tune, or a classical piece should stop some in their tracks if it is done well.

Second, I wonder how many listened to his playing as it rose and then descended as they came toward him and walked on by? I am thinking that people who heard him had a few different emotions, but it is out of the ordinary enough to certainly be noticeable and I am willing to bet, quite a few people had an ear-worm for quite sometime after that...:)

Lastly, in concert w/the above( ;) ), how many who passed by felt emotions rise? This is the true test of a musician, to evoke a response w/in the individual. I am willing to bet the majority the, vast majority, felt something as they heard him play...maybe that is really what this is all about...I kind of hope so...:)

[Missy Vixen]

32. ras, I'm so sad I didn't have the experience

>This is the true test of a musician, to evoke a response w/in the individual.<

I would have loved to have been passing through that station while he was playing, just to have the experience of hearing his Stradivarius.

There is nothing like the experience of hearing anyone who is supremely talented, doing something they love.

Julie

p.s. :hi: I miss you! :hug:

[rasputin1952]

33. Would that have not been one heck of an experience to start off

the day...:D


as well...:pals:

[Goblinmonger]

36. Do you know the difference between a violin and a fiddle?

Nobody cares if you spill beer on a fiddle.

[rasputin1952]

37. LOL...

and beat a Bass Drum w/it too...

:rofl:

[mainer]

41. Do you know the most under-used sentence in the English language?

"Is that the banjo player's Porsche?"

What do you say to a banjo player wearing a suit and tie?

"Will the defendant please stand."

(I got a million of 'em.)

[fortyfeetunder]

34. I am absolutely drooling.

I've seen the artist perform earlier in his career and he's the bomb!

Though I think I would have chosen Metro Center than L'Enfant Plaza to play. I've listened to most of his works so I would have probably recognized him...

[dannofoot]

35. Great story, but be careful...

...of that "World's Greatest Violinist" moniker in your title...

Josh Bell is phenomenal, but folks like Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, Midori, and their fans might just take exception!

[OffWithTheirHeads]

38. Hey, what do I know? I'm a Sheet Metal worker

But I know good music when I hear it.

[MazeRat7]

39. It would have stopped me dead in my tracks... I always have time for great music. -nt

[OneBlueSky]

40. sad commentary, but a great story . . . thanks for posting . . . n/t

.

[Rhythm]

42. Thank you so much for posting this...

tmfun: Thank you for making my day with this...

I'd honestly never heard of this artist before, but I would have given almost anything to have witnessed this firsthand, if only to have heard the beauty of his work.

[mcscajun]

43. Great article, and it made me think back to the days when the WTC

was still standing. I used to commute into Lower Manhattan from NJ. A lot of mornings, at the bottom of the escalator bank leading from the PATH trains to the Concourse Level of the WTC, there'd be a classical violinist doing just what Joshua Bell did. I always enjoyed the music, but like most in this article, I couldn't do more than pause for a moment or two.

Reading this article brought this other violinist back to my mind, and now I wonder whatever happened to that man: was he there at the escalators that morning? If he was, did he survive? Questions with no answers; I never knew his name, but I can see his face clearly right now.