When is a $3.5 Million Violin Not a $3.5 Million Violin?

Read this first, then join me afterward for a few of my thoughts:

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At a metro station in Washington DC Joshua Bell played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station.

Three minutes went by. A middle aged man noticed the musician. He stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip from a woman who threw the money in and continued to walk.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world, played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a Stradivarius violin handcrafted in 1713 reportedly worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before, he sold out at a theater in Boston with seats averaging $100.

This was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people: In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written with the best violin, how many other things are we missing?

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OK. I’ve read about this before. It’s hard to believe…or is it? I did think of an alternate way of looking at this. I think that maybe a more interesting way to look at this is to consider the fact that perhaps not everyone who passed by was even capable of appreciating the quality of the music. How many people know their classical composers? How many people know what a “good” violinist sounds like vs. a “world-class” violinist? Of those who can appreciate these things, how many people actually have the ear to tell the difference in the quality of the instruments? My son is a pretty good pianist, but he has this amazing ear for the quality of the pianos he plays. I believe he is gifted in this regard. I’ve seen his face when he has had the opportunity to tickle the keys of an expensive, high-quality piano. It truly is priceless.

200 years ago, the only way to hear music was live. Period. No other way existed. If someone wanted to see a play, they had to go to a theater. If they wanted to read poetry, they had to buy a book or find someone from whom they could borrow a book. To appreciate art, you had to be in the physical presence of the original work. These are all things that we have “lost” in this electronic age. That said, we have access to more music, more art, more writing, and more information about other cultures than anyone living 200 years ago could imagine. We have replaced quality with quantity, and I do not necessarily think that is a good or bad thing. In the end, like my son, we all have unique gifts that, hopefully, have the opportunity to manifest themselves.

I’ve thought about this story often. Even if I were on vacation and happened across his playing, I do not know if I would have given him much thought. I would like to think that the beauty of his art would have moved me, but, in a crowded train station in Washington, D.C., I don’t know if I would have. I shared this with a friend of mine, and she offered up this last point: “I do believe most people are not fully present in each moment. They pass by the violinist, and many may not even notice the music.” That, unfortunately, is still very, very true.

When is a $3.5 million violin not a $3.5 million violin? When you don’t hear it.