withallyourmind.net

I have just come across an an unusual story which has moved me deeply. Joshua Bell, former child prodigy and internationally acclaimed violinist who has just been named the recipient of the Avery Fisher prize as the best classical musician in America stood in a busy Washington D.C. metro station and played some of the most beautiful music ever written on one of the most beautiful musical instrumnets ever made, a 3-plus million dollar, 1713, Antonio Stradivari violin.

He was, for the most part, completely ignored by 1097 passers-by while he played exquisite, moving classical music for almost 45 minutes. This Washington Post article is great. You can also listen to the entire 45 minute concert in the metro here.

There is something sad about our inability to stop and appreciate rare beauty, to put our lives on hold for a moment and be moved by genius. The article asserts:

If we can’t take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that — then what else are we missing?

In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run — for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look.