They have a saying in Paris that describes the fast pace of life in that city: Métro, boulot, dodo, meaning that life consists only of an endless repetition of subway rides, work, and sleep. Life in Washington is harried, too, but sometimes you need to stop as you dash through the L’Enfant Plaza station at rush hour on a Friday in January. Who is playing the famous Chaconne from Bach’s D minor partita so well in the Metro? Take a long look at that violinist in the T-shirt, jeans, and Washington Nationals cap. Yes, it’s Friday, and we’re all tired at that point in the week, but if you do not pay attention, you may not realize that you are walking right by a free performance by Joshua Bell, one of the most famous violinists on the world stage today.
A couple years ago, Post journalist Gene Weingarten heard a particularly good performance by a keyboard player in the Metro and watched as crowds of people walked by without stopping. Even those who showed their appreciation by dropping a few coins did so on the run. As Weingarten told me in a phone interview earlier this week, this was not really about people’s musical tastes and even less about the much-feared Death of Classical Music, a myth which New Yorker critic Alex Ross has been trying to debunk. This experiment is really about the priorities of modern life. Are people in a position to appreciate the beautiful things that happen randomly in life? Are we really so busy to stop when confronted with a musical performance of unquestionable beauty? What if Yo-Yo Ma were just to set up with his cello in the Metro?
In an article published online today and on newsstands in tomorrow’s Post Magazine, Gene Weingarten answers these questions. International superstar Joshua Bell, one of the least buttoned-down musicians performing at such a high level, was willing to take part in the experiment. He did indeed play his 1713 Stradivarius violin (the “Gibson ex-Huberman”) for about 45 minutes in the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station this past January 12. The publication date of the article coincides nicely with the recent announcement that he has been awarded the Avery Fisher Prize, in recognition of the career achievements of an American classical musician.
While Bell played, a hidden camera recorded the crowds of people walking by, mostly oblivious. (You can watch clips from the video online.) Some people occasionally put money in Bell’s violin case, as he played the gorgeous Bach Chaconne (actually twice, the first and last piece), as well as other pieces by Bach for unaccompanied violin and the famous Gounod Ave Maria. No one stopped until the very end, when one young woman stood taking it all in, with the crowd rushing by her. She then chatted with Bell, saying that she caught his concert at the Library of Congress the month before, an event that DCist recommended in the Classical Music Agenda but could not attend.
Whoever you are, woman who stopped to listen to Bach and recognized Joshua Bell, you are my hero. Alright, DCist readers, did anyone happen to walk by Joshua Bell on January 12? More importantly, why did you not tip us off?
