Perceiving Beauty

A dear friend sent me an e-mail concerning the following incident and I wanted to share it.

Gene Weingarten, Washington Post writer, conducted an experiment for an article he published on April 8, 2007, titled “Pearls Before Breakfast.” Weingarten had violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell, play six complex classical pieces in a Washington D.C. Metro station during morning rush hour. Joshua played incognito for 43 minutes on a Stradivarius violin, handcrafted in 1713 and reportedly worth 3.5 million dollars.

Accustomed to seeing street musicians in the subway station, Over 1,000 people scurried past, oblivious to the magnificence and beauty of the music surrounding them. Unaware they were in the presence of one of the most talented musicians in the world, who performs at over 200 international engagements annually—commanding up to $100 per ticket.

He earned $32.17 that day. Only seven people stopped to listen. Only one woman stopped and listened long enough, to recognize who he was.

The questions are these:

In an unexpected place, at an inconvenient time, would we perceive beauty? Would we take the time to appreciate it?

Stop and Hear the Music





If we don’t have time to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the most beautiful music ever written… What else are we missing?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

We quite obviously are in way too much of a hurry, and are missing inspirational and aesthetic moments of great significance.

Annette Piper said...

Thats incredible - but it doesn't surprise me. Always in a hurry we rarely stop when could experience something amazing. I feel rather sorry for Joshua too!

Amy @ Literacy Launchpad said...

Wow. How interesting! But yet, not surprising, right?

Thank you for visiting my blog, and sharing such beautiful thoughts.