The cover story of this week’s Washington Post Magazine intrigued me: take a world-renowned violinist and his multi-million dollar Stradivarius, have him play for change at a DC Metro station during morning rush-hour, and see if anyone notices.
My immediate thought was no, of course I would not stop, for a couple reasons. First, I oppose the idea of street musicians being allowed to play in the Metro. The transit authority is considering ending its historical ban in order to welcome buskers, but only those who would be vetted by some sort of arts commission. That may weed out the worst of the worst, but since musical preference is so personal, chances are that many commuters will not enjoy the performances on any given day. Better that your iPod play whatever racket you like to hear, mine can play Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg, or Barry White, and we’ll all be happier for it.
Aside from my opposition to buskers in principle, there is a second, and more personally bothersome reason, that I likely would not have stopped to listen to Joshua Bell play his violin: I wouldn’t have recognized his greatness. Actually, that’s not completely accurate. When I watched the video clips that accompany the article online, I could hear that the music was indeed quite beautiful. However, to my ears, a classical music sampler CD from the bargin bin at Target would probably sound just as good. I don’t have an ear for whatever it is that people hear and recognize as superior sound. Whether I am tone deaf (likely), musically uneducated (certainly), or both–I just can’t hear the difference. So not recognizing the unique opportunity being offered to me, I probably would have walked on by.
