Violinist Part of Washington Post's Cultural Experiment

The Washington Post conducted an experiment in which world famous violinist Joshua Bell busked a busy Washington, D.C. metro stop during rush hour. The experiment aimed to see how many people would stop and listen if they heard a concert-quality, professional musician performing, even if he appeared at a subway stop. A second outcome indicates that very few people stop to throw money at someone they encounter as a street musician, even if that someone ordinarily commands $100 a seat in a concert venue.

So on Friday morning, January 12, Joshua Bell set himself up at the L'Enfant Plaza in D.C. and began to play Bach's Chaconne on a Stradivarius violin. After 43 minutes, 5 more classical pieces, and 1,097 people passing by, Joshua Bell had made $32.17 (not counting $20 received from one person who recognized him).

The lack of recognition and response surprised the researchers and editors at the Washington Post, who had worried about crowd control. Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, speculated that a classical musician would get more notice in Europe.

Source: www.suite101.com