http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Only three people stopped to listen to him all day. Only one person recognized him. He made $32.17

Just remember, if you make fun of the people who didn't take the time to listen, you have to read the whole article or else you're a hypocrite.

How many people would actually recognize a famous violinist though? I know I wouldn't.

tl;dr

it's not the violinist they should have noted though, it was the fact that some of the most incredible music out there was being shoved into people's faces and they ignored it because they don't recognize it in an ordinary setting and they don't have the time to try to register what they're hearing and seeing around them.

Very interesting, but not very surprising, and I can't really criticize them. I can't claim to be any different, but it is a little heartbreaking

I've read about one third of the article by now, and I really don't like the style they wrote it in. Is this guy really that good?

washington post sucks

It's more like musician Philip Glass, backed up by the director Godfrey Reggio.

Anyways. This entire article read like the author trying to explain how bloody sophisticated he (or she) is. Which was probably not what they were going for. But the musician seems like a cool enough dude to have done something like this.

EDIT: edit edit edit...[/i]

Wow, that guy is good!

I couldn't even name one until I read the article.

it's like sugarless said. it's not the person. it's the music. even in the recording you can just see how powerful the sound was.

world's greatest violinist? psh, get back to me once he gets a MacArthur fellowship.

I'd know who Yo-Yo Ma was if he were playing, that guy's distinctive.

To be fair, I rarely stop to listen to someone playing in the subway. Maybe I slow down, but im usually heading somewhere and dont really have time to stop and listen :/


Ill pay more attention now though :p

Yeah, I wonder if I would have stopped to listen or not. I'd like to think I would, but you know...

I like to think that I would, myself, stop to listen to the music, or at very least bask in it for a few moments. I thrive on music, though sadly, in this day and age, the general public, including myself, are almost constantly in a hurry. They must get to /wherever/ now. There is no time for a pause, no matter how worthwhile it is.

But yea. Then again if I spotted a nice hot naked woman, I'd probably stop. As would just about any other male.

*shrug*

There are a lot of things I could say in response to this article, but my two comments will be:

1) the guy who wrote the article himself doesn't seem to know much about classical music. "Chaconne" is the name of a type of dance, and the piece that Bell was playing was a d-minor chaconne, but the reporter kept using "Chaconne" like a proper name. Argh. Major pet peeve of mine.

2) of all the pieces that Joshua Bell played, the chaconne is the only one that even comes remotely close to being a great piece of music. (Well, the "Ave Maria" is great, but it's really "Ellens Dritter Gesang" and for piano and soprano... it makes much less sense on solo violin.) Seriously, though... Manuel Ponce? ???

It's an interesting article, though. I just felt like the reporter was being a little pretentious/condescending, which was uncalled for. A metro station is not the place for a classical music performance, and I don't really think that should be surprising.

I disagree, I don't think there's any proper or improper place for a classical (or any style) performance.

I don't have time to read the article right now, but as far a busking goes you can get a fair amount of money depending on the location and the tunes you play. Even if people don't stop to listen they often toss some change.

Stop to smell the roses people!

I purposefully leave early to places in case I need to look at something cool or hit on older women.

And there is no improper place for classical music. I really don't think there are too many inappropriate places for any music. Some people might get offended but IMO there is no inappropriate place.

Someday at your funeral Ill be sure to st op in to play some Bethovan or my recorder...

I think I'm going to get someone to play Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds in a harmonica quartet.

It's an article written for [fluffy cute bunnies]

Of course it's going to be condescending and full of itself. I mean, we artists are totally great. And we're better than you and can form much better opinions because we're edumacated and crap.

Haha I loved it

Tracer and Spook, I entirely disagree. Classical music is part of a tradition of art that is intended to transcend the every day, uplift its audience, and help one recover from the stress of the real world. That's why people go to concert halls where the lights are dimmed, you don't clap between movements, and you avoid making noise while the music is being performed.

At the same time, classical music is complex and demands attention; if you aren't intently following what's going on, how the themes are developing, how the instruments relate to each other, etc. then you're missing 90% of the music.

A metro station is not a place that's conducive to either of those two aspects. Rather than being separate from the mundane, everyday world, it's in the middle of it. And people are there because they're going somewhere, because they're busy, because they've got other things on their minds. That's not a bad thing, but that's not the state in which you're meant to listen to music.

Classical music is not background music, and the perception of it as such is killing the art.

(Sorry for the harsh reply, but as an aspiring musician, this is an issue that I'm very passionate about.)

Hey guys, big news.

You're no longer allowed to enjoy transitory entertainment while you perform other mindless tasks.

Yeah, you basically wasted ALOT of money on your stereo. Ambience is for LOSERS. And you don't enjoy art if you don't enjoy it like I do, which is the correct way. Oh, and you have to wear buddy holly glasses.

I wish more people were into classical music. Most kids my age seem to be solely into heavy metal and rap. Unlike those two, classical music can fit in any situation. Comedies, horrors, and dramas can all employ classical music in their soundtracks trhough some way.

Glad you cleared this up. I thought we were talking about art.

You make a very good point, Vornskr.

I don't buy that the effect of classical music on the listener must be tied to the rituals that come with it. I would say that people go to shows at concert halls because that's where the acoustics are best, don't clap between movements because they know the tune isn't over and avoid making noise because they're listening. As an example, if I went to a jazz club that was uniformly lit and cheered for the soloist in the middle of the tune I'd still get the same uplifting effect that you talked about.



I would argue that all types of music demand attention, not just complex ones - you can't just listen with half an ear to something regardless of how simple or complex it is. You're either listening or you're not.



Why not? Some subway stations have great acoustics. The only thing "wrong" with busking is that it removes all the pretentious parts of the performance designed to elevate the musician from the audience.



I agree with you about it not being background music, but I don't think art is being killed by any means. If people don't get classical music that's their great loss, but that doesn't kill the art form.

That sounded amazing. I want a CD right now.

And what?

Do you ****ing sit and stare at the same painting all day? Watch the same movie, listen to the same music all the ****ing time.

TRANSITORY ENTERTAINMENT. YOU PAY ATTENTION. YOU ABSORB. YOU MOVE ON. If you have the time. Which, you know, not everyone does.

Its not art if you're entertained.

Vornskr: I'm kind of interested in talking about this, so if you want we could both just stick Rob on ignore and continue the discussion minus the flamebait...

Oh yeah. Being right about something is always flambait.

Especially if you express yourself with a harsh tone. :downs:

I agree with Rob. I think art is always art, regardless of where it is. Whether it's 17th century fresco or a mural spray-painted on the outside of a train.
If you don't recognize it without the framing, that's a unfortunate. But if you think it actually needs to be framed, that's a tragedy.

plz dont hurt me

It does make you wonder what the persuit of capitalism is actually ever going to achieve, if such art and beauty becomes irrelevant in the process.

It is not the people that are stupid or unsophistocated, it is the system they exist in that is absurd and directionless.

I couldn't get through the article, the style was flamboyant drivel.

Nice concept though. I'd have stopped for a minute or so because i've never seen a busker with a violin before.

No money though.