I Coulda Binna Star
They talked one of the world’s best violinists into playing in the DC metro at rush hour. A superb article. Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com
I like to think that, if I’d been there, I would almost certainly have been among the few who’d have stopped and appreciated the music. Not because I know Joshua Bell, but because I always listen to street musicians, even when I’m late for work. I always give them a few seconds, at least, to prove to me that they’re so bad I should just walk by without a listen, without giving a dollar.
Next time a newpaper wants to pull a stunt like this, let it be at a station I’m passing through.
By the way, there’s an audio effect in the video that you might attribute to the poor quality of the camera mic, but which would have been nearly as apparent if you’d been there in person: the cacaphony of the place sometimes makes the music sound genuinely bad. There are times when the pitches collide, Bell’s and the crowd’s, and your ear wants to blame Bell for the horror of what you hear.
It’s a factor the article doesn’t mention. But not a very consequential one. Even in a Metro station, anyone with an ear for music should have known Bell was, not Bell, but at least very good.