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Tonight Joshua Bell will be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize, given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement, at Lincoln Center. Not long ago, however, one of the best classical musicians in the world...performed as a street musician.
Every day we see them in the subways, street corners, and other nooks and crannies of the city. Not long ago, Arcade Fire was seen busking in Union Square! Do people really notice the musicians though, or do they just pass them by? Bell did an experiment in DC to see what would happen if he were amongst the often anonymous that play for change in public spaces. The outcome?: "Among 1,097 people who passed by, only one recognized him and only a couple more were drawn to his music. However, every single child who passed by attempted to stop and listen, before being hastened on by their parents. For his nearly 45 minute performance, Bell collected $32.17."
Here's DCist's take on a busking Bell.
Photo from the video of Bell busking, via Washington Post.
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That Post is really interesting... I stop and listen to people in the subway regularly (or at least give them money as I go by) but I still am not sure I would recognize Bell's huge talent in such an unusual setting.
I'd have stopped, listened (not having a clue as to what I was listening to), and taken about a hundrend artsy photos for my Flickr site.
I'd have given him a buck or two if I had it.
Well, at least a buck.
From a New York commuter perspective, this story was a little annoying. Everybody knows that location is important, and that the morning rush has a much more frantic rhythm to it than other parts of the day.
Put Bell on a Midtown subway platform at 11:00 and I'm sure he'd do pretty well. Put him in Grand Central or Penn Station and he'd definitely draw a crowd.
Ha - thats really cool.
this was all over the "nerd" forums.
first off, his location was bad. he's right next to an entrance/exit. If you have any congregation around that area, most places would be illegal as it's a egress. No one would stop right in the middle there to get in the way of the other commuters coming in.
He's a feet away from the door mat.
Now if plays in the TS tunnels between sixth ave and eigth ave, I would bet he would have an audience.
I just think he needs some busking coaching, there is a difference between a lover and a gynecologist, this last one knows everything about the female body, as does this gifted concert master about his music; a busker is an intuitive lover. I have been doing it for the last 15 years and my last two hours till, outperforms the 32 bucks of the Great Maestro
There is a great response to the Joshua Bell article by a NYC subway musician in her blog: www.SawLady.com/blog
She interprets the situation differently from the Washington Post reporters... I thought you might find it interesting.