I've seen this story before...

[Tom Holtz]

The writer at the Washington post who set this up won a Pulitzer for the story, IIRC. The bit that I remember the most was that Joshua Bell, who plays for the biggest houses and the largest paydays for any classical musician of our time, was actually getting anxious about his playing in the Metro station. He was getting so little response from the morning rush hour crowds, he actually started wondering if he was doing something wrong, or was just way off his game.

I don't have a link, but if the story is still on the washingtonpost.com website, there were video clips from a camera set up to observe Bell and the people around him included as part of the story.

[Dean E]

A few people were interviewed, and at least one recognized the music from Bell's CD. Another with classical music training paused for several minutes, recognizing the amazing sound of Bell's Strad.

Most commuters, however, were in a rush to get to work.
Arbeit macht frei.

[sugawi]

They should conduct another experiment under the same conditions: Bloke playing

[Art Hovey]

That story says a lot about the people in D.C. I believe he would have made twice as much $ in Grand Central Station, and even more in Boston.

Some years ago I spent a week at MIT for a science teachers' thing. I brought along a junk tuba and went out late at night to practice in a secluded spot by the river, sitting on a bench with my home-made canvas gig bag on the ground. I am certainly no Joshua Bell, but somebody did toss 35 cents onto the bag as he walked by.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

This story pisses me off to the point of extreme violence. Yes, I would stuff that violin up his you know where.

I don't see any reason to get upset about this...that might reveal some serious issues for you that you might want to address with a psychiatrist (if you're really serious about that). Extreme violence? Really?

You can't take the fact that average, everyday people might walk right by one of the premier violinists in the world as evidence that the venue is what counts (which is, after all, what the original intent of the story was to find out). How many of those average, everyday people would even recognize the difference? How many would care to listen, no matter how expert the performer? How many just simply didn't have time to stop and listen?

At a concert hall, everyone is there specifically to listen. Everyone there is a "fan" of the particular performer or the music being played in general. Everyone there wants to stop and just listen or they wouldn't have paid for a ticket.

Here's an experiment...take the same few hundred people who walked by and somehow get them together for a concert hall performance by the same artist. They would, naturally, all say he was "good" and politely applaud at all the right times. Of course, they would say the same about an average high-school violinist. Or a middle-of-the-road college tubist. They're all "good." They don't have a learned opinion because they don't have an educated background in the subject matter.

Talk about apples to oranges. This got a Pulitzer Prize? Astounding. It doesn't prove anything people didn't already know, and it shouldn't be viewed as evidence of some "problem" in the way arts are perceived.

Brian, if you were serious, take some meds, dude. This story certainly isn't worth getting mad about. And why are you mad enough at Mr. Bell to shove his violin...what did he do wrong?

[k001k47]

what ever motivation was assigned to them

I'm not sure they had a motivation... The article said that most were headed for work, but that's about it. I'm not going dispute it and say it's untrue, seeing as many people do indeed work.

[tofu]

This story pisses me off to the point of extreme violence. Yes, I would stuff that violin up his you know where.

I don't see any reason to get upset about this...that might reveal some serious issues for you that you might want to address with a psychiatrist (if you're really serious about that). Extreme violence? Really?


Brian, if you were serious, take some meds, dude. This story certainly isn't worth getting mad about. And why are you mad enough at Mr. Bell to shove his violin...what did he do wrong?

Brian is right. This was a stunt to fulfill a preordained outcome. Anybody who uses mass transit in a big busy crowded city to get to or from work knows that you have a certain mindset because if you miss your train/bus you are going to be late to work or make a long trip home that much longer or worse get mugged etc.. So you are not going to let yourself get distracted. In my city we have a huge number of so called street musicians and I use the word musician loosely. Some of them bang garbage can lids together, some bang on empty paint cans and a few have real instruments that my dog could play better. There are a few who do have talent. Anybody who commutes every day in the city quickly grows tired of so many others assaulting you for your money or time. Some of the musicians can be as aggressive as your basic Starbucks cup toting bum. They get in your way and some will physically challenge you. People quickly learn to put on their game face the way kids in tough neighborhoods learn early on to do if you want to survive. If you show any sign of weakness you will be challenged. It is the basic law of nature. Wolves don't look for the toughest prey animal to take down. They look for the weakest.

I would really question how well you could hear/appreciate even a world class musician in a crowded noisy subway station even when the train isn't coming or going. I remember seeing Nightline do this with Mr. Bell and I bet the mics were specially placed for the cameras to pick his sound up well. So while you could hear it well at home I would be surprised if most people walking by would be able to tell if it was anything but more noise in the station. I wouldn't have stopped. It is neither the time nor the place for listening to a concert. Just because he decides to try and interject himself into my day doesn't mean I'm going to allow it. Pickpockets prey on distracted commuters so smart commuters never let themselves get distracted.

What if he was doing a violin solo with the CSO at Orchestra Hall and lets say for a living I sold hot dogs. How would he like it if I all of a sudden I barged into the hall wearing one of those big ballpark metal hot dog dispensers and in the middle of his solo I started yelling - "Hot Dogs Here - Get Your Hot Dogs". I bet he wouldn't like me interjecting myself into his day either. Plus, I bet more than a few patrons would stop listening to him and be passing money down the aisle to buy a hot dog!

[TUbajohn20J]

WELL SAID

[Wyvern]

All that proves is that most people in their day to day life are too busy to stop - they are busy getting to work for a meeting, or getting home to the kids. Reminds me of a poem by William Davies which my late mother used to recite to me;

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

at Joshua Bell playing Bach!

[tubajazzo]

Art and artist do need a suitable frame in which they are presented, recognized and appreciated. It is a very romantic idea, to think that the beauty of art is recognized under all circumstances. It is true, we don't see the beauty, if we are headed otherwise. If I am in an hurry, I simply don't want to listen to Bach, and that is ok.

Gerd

[imperialbari]

The sad thing is that nobody recognized the musical value of the performance despite its atypical staging.

I have heard great street music. Peruvian or Bolivian Indian bands with their specialty flutes and plucked strings. A Mexican band, where the second trumpet was the real star. British and Danish military bands on my local town square. But those were the days.

Since certain countries joined the EU we have been flooded with crime. One type, hard to come by for legal authorities, is about aural pollution. People with cheap battery driven equipment commit crimes. At best they emit sterile MIDI-generated music. At worst they just bang their keys randomly. No rhythm, no melody.

Klaus

[tubajazzo]

I have heard great street music.

of course, me too! the best street music is mostly played in more touristic places: people have time to enjoy, are looking for surprises and are not in a hurry. And the musicians can collect some real money too. But rush hour in a metro station......they could run into the instruments. No good idea.

Gerd

[Donn]

It is neither the time nor the place for listening to a concert. Just because he decides to try and interject himself into my day doesn't mean I'm going to allow it.

Well, that sure gets to the heart of it for me.

Some of you guys make too much of this, in my opinion. Yes, the implicit premise is that most of us could be more open to unprogrammed experience, but it's just something to think about. We don't have to decide if those commuters were in the wrong, or if they were quite justified in walking past Mr. Bell. It's just something to think about.

Per the implicit premise, the losers were really the commuters, who missed a musical performance that they might have paid top dollar for at another time of day. You feel that you weren't missing anything, because it wasn't the appropriate setting. OK. Art really has no value anyway, does it? so no one can really be said to have lost much here.

[windshieldbug]

I once did an experiment where one of the world's premier chefs made a truffle soufflé at the Pittsburgh Marathon. I was shocked when none of the runners stopped to sample this world-class productions.

Well put.

Art must be received to be appreciated. Even "conceptual" music.
No receptors, no communication. No communication, no art.
Even here in the "elite" northeast.

[jeopardymaster]

Some years ago I was in a Tokyo hotel, waiting for the shuttle bus for Narita and the flight home. I had made a scheduling error and had wound up reserving a seat on the last one that would get me there on time. And I had made another mistake - misunderstanding the bus departure time. I had just taken a bite of a $40 Kobe beef steak sandwich at the hotel restaurant when I was informed I had 5 minutes, tops, to get to the bus. It was the by far the best steak sandwich I have ever eaten, but I was unable to take any time to enjoy it.

As much as I admire Mr. Bell's playing, I can't be totally assured I would have had time to enjoy it either, at least not in a train station.

[TUBAD83]

I have done the morning commute from that very metro station a number of times in the past--you have to have a certain mindset going in or you will not only miss your train, you may well be knocked down and/or robbed (Im sure Mr Bell had a discreet police detail around to make sure noone tried to relieve him of his 4 million dollar fiddle)

Another thing--lets remember music is subjective--believe it or not, there are alot of people who do not like classical music, just like alot of people dislike c/w, rap, jazz, etc. I don't believe the "experiment" was objective because it presumes that people in general should appreciate and recognize classical music as some sort of social rule. When you really think about it, its really nothing more than journalistic stunt.

Now if Barry White was on the platform singing Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe and backed by the Love Unlimited Orchestra-- oh yeah I would stop and empty out the wallet---but hey that's just me!

[Toad Away]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2hgCu7Sx40

______________________________________

______________________________________

[GC]

If the ghost of Barry White was on the platform singing with an orchestra, I'd run much, much faster.

R.I.P. Barry, July 4, 2003.

[bort]

I remember this story from long ago. I thought it was a cute idea, but not much more than that. A Pulitzer? Wow... what stories did this guy beat out to win that? I'm a classical music fan, but would have only given it a few seconds of attention. Sorry, that's the reality.

Being in NY now, you see street musicians in the subway ALL the time. Even to the extent of small jazz bands, one of which even had a tuba player (a TubeNetter? It was at 34th St/Herald Square...). Lots of good musicians down there and elsewhere on the streets. It's interesting and it's pleasant, but really, not in places where I want to stop and hang out, even if it's great music being played well. Nothing about a subway station says "here, stay a while." It says "run to your train, 5 minutes makes all the difference." And we do run. And it does make a difference. Get in, get out, get on with it.

Ironically, I get in the train, turn on my iPod, and listen to some Bach (or whatever else).

[Dylan King]

I wonder if the scene would have been different if Mr. Bell had been playing something more popular, like a theme from television or even a video game. People are attracted to what they know, and certainly these days people are familiar with less and less when it comes to "classical" music.

Case in point. The number one "tuba" video on YouTube (for over two years now)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONrOhMW7y4s

This fool decided one day after having seen a guitar play the same tune in a video, that it might be neat for a tuba to do it as well. He downloaded a piano score from a quick google search, and played through it once, sight-reading in treble clef, making many embarrassing mistakes.

Around the same time, a less popular, but much more exciting, accurate, and more talented video was uploaded...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y75ryZC8LB0

Interesting, eh?

I make my living now composing and producing religious television, and I'll never forget Tommy Johnson's advise during the days that I was SURE that I would be the next Gene Pokorny. Tommy knew that people's attention spans were changing, and the future of music was changing, and saw my talent for music composition and filmmaking. He told me that orchestras may not even be around in the same way as they were at that time (in the 80s and 90s) for much longer. That studio musicians were severely threatened by electronic music, and that less and less people were going to be interested in traditional orchestral music. He encouraged students that had an aptitude for jazz and rock, or doubling, or composition, etc; to keep that interest as part of their musical focus, and for many, it has happily paid off.

He also encouraged students (who may have been very good on the tuba); who showed talents in other areas to continue strongly with those specific talents, and I'm glad that he did. It is a difficult world out there for many, especially those players who aren't Joshua Bell or Alan Baer. Actually Alan, having been a student of Mr. Johnson, was probably encouraged by him to keep up his interest in horn design and horn repair, and we know that has paid off for him, having been one who used to visit Alan in his Long Beach garage to get help quieting down the rotars on my old 185. Incidentally Tommy also told me back in 1992, when I think Alan was principal of the Long Beach Orchestra, that one day he would be one of the world's best tuba players.

We live in a VERY different world than just twenty years ago, than just five years ago, than just last year. As artists and musicians, we will have to adjust as the world turns, and keep an eye on what's popular in our art of music, and what may be the next new thing. For the young chaps out there looking to be a professional tubist, or professional musician, I would suggest looking beyond the symphony, beyond the classical, beyond the jazz and rock. Think of something "completely different", and you may just be onto something that is career worthy, or at least worthy of a "viral" tuba video.