On a cold January morning, a man plays six Bach works on the violin for 45 minutes at a Washington, D.C. subway station. During this time, about a thousand people, mostly in a hurry to get to work, pass in front of the violinist. Only about three minutes after the violinist starts playing, a middle-aged man notices the violinist for the first time, slows down, and after a few seconds continues on his way quickly to catch up where he had to go.
The violinist gets his first dollar tip a minute or so after that. A woman, without interrupting her walk, throws the money into the bowl in front of the violinist and passes by quickly. A few minutes later, another man pauses and leans down to listen, but when he glances at his watch, he quickly continues on his way, expressing that he is in a hurry to not be late for work. The one who pays the most attention is a three-year-old boy. Despite his mother's tugging, the boy stands before him and looks intently at the violinist. Finally his mother forces his child to walk by pulling him faster. The boy turns helplessly after his mother, turning to look at the violinist. Similarly, there are a few more children, and they are all driven away by their parents, forcing them to continue walking. During the 45 minutes he plays, only 6 people stand in front of the violinist for a very short time. 20 people give money without pausing, continuing to walk. During the time the violinist stole $ 32. When he finishes playing, silence prevails and no one notices that he has stopped or clap. No one realizes that he is the world's greatest violinist, Joshua Bell, and with a $3.5 million violin he plays the most complex pieces ever written. However, two days before Joshua Bell's mini-concert on the subway, the tickets for the concert he gave in Boston were sold for an average of $100… This is a true story and Joshua Bell playing the violin in the subway in a casual guise was published by the Washington Post on perception, enjoyment and priorities. It was designed as a result of a social experiment. Questioned things; Can we perceive beauty in an ordinary place, at an inappropriate hour? Do we stop enjoying it? In an unexpected environment, we can recognize a talent? That was it... If we don't have a moment to stand in front of it and listen while the best musician in the world is playing the best music in the world, what else are we missing?
