Classics fall on Deaf Ears…
The Washington Post has an interesting story about an experiment they conducted at L’Enfant Plaza in January. The basic experiment was to find out how many people reacted to a world famous classical violinist playing at rush hour in the hub of Washington’s federal district. They have a handful of videos showing the effect. It’s actually an interesting article to read. They go on to interview some of the people that stopped, or didn’t stop, and a quick interview with the musical director of the National Symphany Orchestra. It was predicted a crowed would gather, and he’d easily make $150 in a short hour. The actual outcome is quite surprising, and most of his earnings came from a single person, who was the only person to recognise Bell1.
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There is a great response to the Joshua Bell article by a NYC subway musician in her blog: http://www.SawLady.com/blog She interprets the situation differently from the Washington Post reporters… I thought you might find it interesting.
Thanks Michelle. That’s a very true observation. I’ve seen people busking and play “okay”, and have a few people watching for 10-15 minutes because they try to involve the audience.