It was Friday, January 12, 2007, at 7:51 AM in a busy metro station in Washington, D.C., a place and time where people rushed to work. A young man stood near a trash can, playing the violin, with the violin case opened in front of him. Dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a baseball cap, he began to play. Nothing unusual—after all, in Indonesia, we call them pengamen; street musicians.
Forty-five minutes passed. He played six pieces. During that time, seven people stopped to listen for a moment before continuing on their way. Twenty-seven people dropped money into his case, some without even pausing to listen. In total, 1,070 people hurried past him.
When he finished, there was no applause, no recognition.
No one knew that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world. He had just performed six of the most brilliant masterpieces ever composed, on a $3.5 million Stradivarius violin, handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari himslef in 1713.
In an interview afterward, Bell laughed, saying:
"It was a strange feeling, that people were actually, ah... ignoring me."
And he laughed again—at himself.
The Story Behind the Experiment
This was a real-life experiment, documented in an article titled “Pearls Before Breakfast”, published as the cover story of The Washington Post in April 2007. The story sparked international discussions, especially in the art and music communities. Perhaps because of its thought-provoking nature, Gene Weingarten, the journalist who wrote it, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.
Before the experiment, Leonard Slatkin, Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, was asked what he thought would happen if a world-class musician played extraordinary classical music as a street performer.
His prediction?
"Well, even if the musician isn't recognized, if he plays well, out of 1,000 people, maybe 35 to 40 will notice his talent. Maybe 75 to 100 will stop and listen..."
When asked if a crowd would form, Slatkin responded:
"Oh, yes, he could probably earn up to $150... By the way, who's the musician?"
When the interviewer told him it was Joshua Bell, Slatkin, half in disbelief, exclaimed:
"NO!!!"
As if he needed to revise his prediction and raise the numbers he had just given.
But in reality?
There was no crowd. And Joshua Bell made only $32.17 in loose change.
The Big Questions
This experiment sparked many debates, especially online. Among them, three key questions emerged:
In a commonplace environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If we do, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
And the most striking rhetorical question:
If we don't take a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... then how many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
***
Indeed, we probably do miss some good things in life. My brother-in-law might have passed by many amazing women before finally meeting my sister. I, too, might have missed incredible job opportunities since graduating and choosing to become an entrepreneur. I even skipped Metallica concert, my favorite band, despite being offered free ticket two separate times!
Well, that's life. To get somewhere, you have to pass by—or pass up—many things. To become an engineer, you may have to let go of the chance to become a musician or a doctor. To make money, you have to work diligently and be on time. And to be on time, you can't stop to listen to Joshua Bell playing the violin in the metro station.
That's just how it is.
Of course, that's not sthe lesson from this story.
Yeah, let's live life more mindfully.
Let's slow down, so we can be more aware of our surroundings, so we don't miss the extraordinary moments happening around us.
But then... what is the best thing in life?
Keeping your job may be the best thing in life for you right now; and to keep it, you can't stop and listen to Joshua Bell playing violin in the metro station while your boss is expecting you to be at your desk. Maybe, it is okay to miss Joshua Bell, sometimes...
As long as one has faith, everything that happens is the best for them, right?
Ah, who knows…
Sometimes, regret overshadows gratitude…
And fear of loss clouds the belief in a promised victory…
The One Who Noticed
Near the end of Joshua Bell's performance, a woman named Stacy Furukawa, a demographer, happened to pass by. She recognized him.
Three weeks earlier, she had attended one of Bell's concerts at the Library of Congress. She had no idea what was happening at the metro station, but there she was—face to face with an international virtuoso, reduced to playing as a street performer.
And she had almost walked past him.
Furukawa watched until the very end, wincing as she took in the scene in shock.
"It was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen in Washington. Joshua Bell was standing there, playing during rush hour, and people weren't stopping. They weren't even looking. Some were tossing quarters at him! Quarters! I wouldn't do that to anybody. I was thinking, Oh my God, what kind of city do I live in that this could happen?"
Not city, miss, it's the world.
Fajrin Yusuf M
Garut, November 28, 2013
P.S.
If you love reading, you must read the full story. It's an incredible piece of writing, with interviews of Bell before and after the experiment, conversations with commuters, and surprising twists.
Read the full story here:
The Washington Post - Pearls Before Breakfast
Joshua Bell's website - Pulitzer Prize-winning articleThe Pieces Joshua Bell Played:
- “Chaconne” from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor.
Bell described it as:
"Not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history. It's spiritually powerful, emotionally profound, structurally perfect. And since it was written for solo violin, I won't be cheating with some half-hearted version."- "Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert.
A piece that shocked many music critics when it debuted in 1825—Schubert, rarely known for religious compositions, suddenly created one of the most enduring musical prayers in history.- "Estrellita" by Manuel Ponce.
- "Méditation" from Thaïs by Jules Massenet.
- "Gavotte" by Johann Sebastian Bach—a lively, lyrical dance evoking images of Versailles or scenes from a Pieter Bruegel painting.
- Another "Chaconne", described as:
"One of the most difficult violin pieces to master. Many try; few succeed. It's exhaustingly long—14 minutes—and consists entirely of a single, succinct musical progression repeated in dozens of variations to create a dauntingly complex architecture of sound."