Stop and Hear the Music - Stradivarius Violinist Joshua Bell - DC Metro

[ThatJuniorHacker]

I probably would have gave him some money, stood there for ten seconds then moved along. lol

[LolonMatinez]

No es que la gente no aprecie la música, simplemente no es el lugar adecuado para hacerlo.

[callmebrick87]

You know why people didn't stop? It's not because their priorities are fucked up or because they can't perceive beauty. It's because, if they're late for fucking work, they'll get fired. If they get fired, then they're lives will become a complete shit hole because of the lack of a job market. I'm a musician, and I LOVE Bach and the sound of a Stradivarius just as much as the next guy... but if it means losing my job, I think that ultimately, I've got my priorities straight.

[PomBare]

I think those making practical comments here are missing the wider point about people in the 21st century, this was an experiment on the human race more than it was an attack on those people that passed through the station.

[ubuntuify]

Now, what happens if we change the title? What if we don't indicate that this is Joshua Bell? I doubt the video would have that many views...

For my part, I would have recognized a Caprice by Paganini, but not said violinist. I'd have stopped and talked, without realizing quite who I was talking to. I some ways, I'd be just as bad as the others...

[RDDProductionz]

I would have sat down and listened lol

[BLAKEMANThe1]

im 100% confident that if u played this in rush hour of any country you would get the same results, so shut the fuck up

[ShakerLouie]

I'll be honest, I'm really really sad that I wasn't there...

C'mon. It's a STRAD and it's Bell. I mean, guys...how could it come to this!?

The world changed too fast that we even can't spend just 1 minute listening to such beautiful thing invented by human? We, human invented music! Music is alrdy in our blood since we're born. This is utter pathetic to see human race ignore the most valuable thing they've ever created.

I'm a violinist from HK.

P.S. Are those people who walked by freaking deaf?

[Niiiiiiiiiiii]

@ShakerLouie I agree :) But why the fuck do ppl like you always comment on who the FUCK u are? "I'm a violinist from HK." We srsly dont give a fuck. just stop. cuntbag. now start flaming me

[THEINVENTABLETHREAT]

The same thing would happen anywhere. Don't be so hard on the USA. Go to Western Europe where they play horrible disco dance music douche bag hip hop kids in sun visors and funky sunglasses.

[LaughingMage]

I'm not surprised. Honestly, how many of you, in a rush to get home or go to work, would stop and listen to a violinist in the Metro station? I mean, not everyone knows who Joshua Bell is, and not everyone can recognize the sound of a Stradivarius. Sure, the music is beautiful, but there are plently of violinists who can play Bach.

I'm just saying, don't act all superior.

[druggged]

@LaughingMage how it is curious :D

[DeathskinJr]

@LaughingMage There's quite a difference between being able to 'play Bach' and what Mr. Bell can produce with a violin. He shouldn't however act superiour but if he would, he has every right to do so.

[ShakerLouie]

@LaughingMage Sorry Mage, I really didn't mean to act superior at all, and sorry that I flamed you up. All I just wanna say is that, sometimes, we can discover beautiful things around us easily. And we should try to appreciate those we worth our attention. I understand not everyone know music. But when we do, we should at least show respect to them. Again, I'm just expressing the first reaction at that moment. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Thank you

[iloveredsox7020]

one of the nations most amaing violinists playing one of the hardest peices.. unbelivable.. what is wrong with this country...

[felixwcf]

The most lifeless country in the world - United States.

[Bouchon211]

@felixwcf The DC metro doesn't represent the entire United States.

[KaityKate22]

I can't believe that barely anybody stopped. I play violin, so i would be running to it, but only a few people stopped. I can't believe how many people probably thought jOSHUA BELL was just a street entertainer. It's kind of sad.

[sailtheplains]

@KaityKate22

Honestly, he did it during rush hour in a train station. I can't believe anyone expected anything different to happen. People have jobs. They're doing stuff. I love the violin, I played for years. But a lower-middle class person working hard all day with a family to provide for--yeah, his music is beautiful--but it doesn't get that person home to his/her kids any faster.

[1stab]

Come on, that's DC. Do that in New York -- quite a different caliber of people.

[iloveredsox7020]

@1stab is it really

??

[rgsten]

great acoustics. mustve sounded sweet live. nice sound and nice gesture.

[billace90]

A Strad for $ 150,000.00? It must be an AWESOME copy!

[coopjr10]

I have a strad. Find me on eBay it's goin up for 150000

[majhodge]

how much do wanna bet that instrument you bought is a replica. If it was a strad, u would have known you were buying a strad

[ChrisRokers]

Uhm... I recently bought a violin named An-something- Stradivarius Cremon-something- Fa-something-t Anno 1720 or is it 1790? i'm not quite sure its very old and dusty inside.... Where can i find someone to check it out?

[cfan1270]

Finally someone who shares their love of music! 1:36!

[pyrioni]

In concert people only go hear the name, not the music, lol.

[Robbiesrk]

Im not really surprised not very many people stopped, I mean most of them must be commuters and probably have to get somewhere on time. I dont think we should judge the people too badly for not stopping

[PakTheAsian]

first dislike!!!!!

[2EZ]

Chaconne!!! I would of loved to stop and listen!

[XxHamaruxX]

@GiannisVP it's called chaconne by J.S. Bach :)

[dudddis]

this is a shame, people does not have a musical culture, they couldn't identify either joshua bell nor the sound of a Stradivarius...

[bijurue]

OMFG

Not one person had a clue. That's fantastic.

[McGuinty1]

@bijurue I'm pretty sure when I read about this not too long ago, it said that only ONE person recognized him.

[GiannisVP]

what does he play? composer? Very Baroque playing ;)

[bazzbazz123]

this doesnt surprise me at all. what are the chances of someone who listens to his music being at this place?

[amoskowitz0103]

Nobody appreciates the finer things in life anymore it seems. I can promise you (and everyone who knows me will tell you), that if I heard this, I would be glued to the spot until he stopped. If you have never heard a Stradivarius in person, do it!!! Absolutely stunning.

[martinluthierking]

just so you know

[Boogawes]

Heck, I got a Stradivarius for about $1000 (tax not included, I think) a while ago.....I still have it and seeing Josh Bell play his violin makes me want to pick mine up again.....

[walleva69]

@Boogawes you are fucking retarded the cheapest you can get one of those is around 200,000

[Boogawes]

@walleva69 Should I clarify that it was previously owned or rather a replica? Let me check into that. Thank you for the (rude) recall.

[walleva69]

@Boogawes anytime

[jrdennis95]

@walleva69 how rude. he probably forgot to mention that while it is TECHNICALLY a Stradavarius, it's really an antique classical violin made in the 1700-1900s in the shape of a Stradavarius.

[AnonymoussourceL0L]

@Boogawes I'm sorry dude, but i think your stradivarius is a copy. Which isn't all that bad, some copies are so good, they can go for thousands. But old man stradivari only made about 1200 violins in his life time so they never go for under 1 million dollars. still a nice find though. Do you have any paper work confirming it? where did you buy it?

[Boogawes]

@AnonymoussourceL0L I don't believe I have the paperwork, but I know my local music, instrument and music-related accessory shop sells them. I remember the day I got it, too, which is odd.

[AnonymoussourceL0L]

@Boogawes It might be a copy the man who sold it to you was either drunk, desperate for money, knew nothing, or knew it was a copy. They are never that cheap.

[Boogawes]

@AnonymoussourceL0L It was a copy. I clarified that earlier and the man who sold it to me made that clear.

[AnonymoussourceL0L]

@Boogawes ah okay. it's a good find anyway. :)

[2SilverRings]

only that one woman knew what she was listening to! sad day.

[samisyosam]

First of all, if you see someone busking you're naturally inclined to dismiss the concept that they MIGHT be famous because they're doing something only poor musicians do. Second of all, even classical music snobs who heard this would just keep on walking. It's Bach's Chaconne. Who HASN'T heard a violinist play that? It would take longer than 20 seconds for a person to realize "hey wait a second, he's actually doing a decent job..." and for the gears to start turning.

[2SilverRings]

@samisyosam i think it was sad that only a few people actualy stoped and listend. even if he was a nobody playing a song we have all heard, is a shame how few people in the world just stop for a few seconds to enjoy a lovely, free preformance.

[rinthokudo]

God this makes me want to scream. People just walking by.  urban zombies.

[svendo23]

Honestly....Would you stay if you really saw him? sorry for english

[ShizzleFoGizzle]

why would anyone pay 20 million for a violin?

[sciologos]

I don't think he plays any good kind of music that attracts people. If he would have played something more alive and faster and better I think more people would have stopped. Also, according to this recording it doesn't sound that Stradivarius doesn't sound that good. Perhaps the location doesn't make it sound that good.

[MoesTube1]

Didn't Tasmin Little perform a similar "experiment" in England with pretty much the same result? Only one person approached Joshua to comment but a few others did stop and listen at least that's what I saw. As an artst, even a great one like JB, you aren't owed throngs of adoring fans and It's called ruch hour for a reason. The questioned posed was will he be noticed? Yes, he was.

[CardinalArchBishop]

This make me feel sad. The people seems to be deaf, they must open their ears.

[anderaina]

if I am in that station, I would have rushed past him too. I have to be on time for work. But if this happened in the evening after work, I would have stayed for a song or two.

[ultraonyx]

just one person!

[PwnPirate]

Whoa, isn't it remarkable that people who are at the metro actually have PLACES TO GO?

My god, how atrocious.

[billace90]

I don't think it was a test, and was never intended to be one. But it's because of the WAY that Strad was played, is my impression that in any capital ofEurope, the outcome would had been way different. And I wish I was wrong. Regards.

[MoesTube1]

A snippet from a Playbills Arts article referencing Tasmin Little's experiment in England - "Her results were similar to Bell's. Just as (unsurprisingly) few of the thousands of federal employees rushing to get to their offices stopped to listen to Bell, few passersby (many presumably racing to catch trains at Waterloo) stopped to listen to Little either." Google "Tasmin Little Experiment" for the full article. I think logistics not just culture is also an issue here.

[DmichielO]

In order for this "test" to have meant something, it woul have had to be performed at different times of day on different days and then compair. You cannot judge by only one appearance. And BTW/without proper acoustics the violin in any form can be annoying, especially one who does not particularly apprecite the piece being played. Plus, what is this test supposed to prove; that we care more about where we are going at that time of day?

[billace90]

Sad. Very sad. It's a social xray of our nations present cultural knowledge as a group. I mean we can't expect everybody to know Bach and Joshua Bell, but hey, something is wrong here....

[rw5791]

maybe the acoustics are bad.Once I heard a violin trio in a lobby all of glass and marble and the sound was actually painful causing me to leave with my hands covering my ears.

[699backstab]

Here is the reason. America is a shallow materialistic unintelligent uncultured shithole whos sheep are hooked on reality tv, buying shit and mastering games that emulate playing instruments..and then thinking they are musicians. Putting a violinist of this calibre in a place like that is like gold plating a 1977 impala... you can do it, but what a waste.

[tnmtemerity]

@699backstabBeing an American I don't quite agree with all of your statements which come accross about as vulgar as reality TV however this is pretty amazing...

[Hannaghh]

I read about this in my english book :D

[nightvisiongoggles1]

Well, you can't blame the people--they're all in a rush and the Metro's not the most appropriate time to stop and listen. Just really sad that few ever looked -or glanced- at him play.

[nojstradamus]

i'm not as pessimistic about the state of classical music in this this country. plus i believe this test to have a touch of bias in it: people have places to be. if this same experiment was conducted in the evening into the night, equally busy and public, the number of bystanders would rise exponentially.

[empoleon9999]

...really? A virtuoso using a Stradivarius plays Bach's Chaconne, and he attracts only a few bystanders... This saddens me, just like when my friend said that the violin can't play alone. There's a bit of aversion towards violin in modern day youth, but this... Wow.

[iplehguitar]

lawl one??

[l1mmg0t]

It is very sad of this country. No one even appreciate music anymore.......only sports

and winning the game can people see you....

-mg

[StradAmatiViolin]

@l1mmg0t I know right no one cares anymore. :'(

[walleva69]

@l1mmg0t it seemed like a few appreciated it

[nerdflanders8710]

@l1mmg0t i love music but a violin is just one instrument , pretty boring. A football team is a well a team, and its great seeing people work as a team.

[Bouchon211]

@nerdflanders8710 I see people working as a team all the time at work....

[sailtheplains]

@l1mmg0t

I don't believe that. The US loves music. But extremely talented street players are common in all metropolitan areas like DC. Most of us who get to hear them are lower-middle class people who can't give them much.

Also, a world-class violinist is only accessible to certain classes of people. Rich people get to see guys like in concert. Lower-middle class people don't. It's cruel to just middle-class and poor people for not knowing something because they're poor.

[salupaginahit]

@l1mmg0t that's every country.

[glennmach]

Very interesting video,Talent is every where !...5 *****..Marc Jones..Los Angeles,U.S.A. (Vocalist)

[slowhand1954]

Very Interesting,  Put Jewel or Furgie there and see what happens. He did get an audience toward the end there and someone did know who he was. Very enlightening Shelly Thanks for sharing this with us. Love to you and the Family.

Peace,

Allen

[markmorg]

pearls before swine

[KikeRio]

Una prueba de que en el mundo de la música clásica al igual que en otras artes similares hay muchísimo más de snobismo que de auténtica afición. Yo sería seguramente uno de los que pasarían de largo, porque esta música no la entiendo básicamente pero si hubiera estado un buen grupo de heavy metal tocando con una calidad paralela a la de este no hubiera dudado ni un segundo en sentarme en el suelo a escuchar toda la actuación...

[dafhgadsrhadjtb]

Tu eres un FAG

[KikeRio]

Y tú que eres?

[dafhgadsrhadjtb]

El mejor. Mi bocadillo es segrado y no puedes serpentirle. (to snake)

[KikeRio]

Aprende a escribir

[soaringvulture]

Real good for free

[oC7o]

Oui tres bien mais il faut tout de même souligner que le violon et je pense à juste titre un instrument pas forcément aimé par une grande majorité de personnes .. comme le serait par exemple la guitare.

[warwager101]

im suprised he didnt get jumped...

[numerozs]

3 million dollar violin just so you know

[ShadowUMP]

@numerozs 3.5 actually :D

[xbasket12x]

@numerozs $3 million dollar violin? No man. Its WAY WAY more than that. Its preferably around 10 million dollars.

[fissionblade]

@xbasket12x Uhm no. It's hard to get six million for a strad cello. 10 million for a violin is ridiculous.

[xbasket12x]

@fissionblade I'm not going to disagree with you but try and do some research on Stradivarius's ok? Itzhak's violin is over 20 million dollars you know

[TheRevmack]

@numerozs are you serious?!

[siciliancara]

@numerozs I think thats the tom tyler thats a little over two. his new violin the the Gibson ex Humberman is around four.

[wtaiii]

Only one person knew who he was. When he plays he makes $1000 a min and someone put pennies in his violin case. D.C. has horrible taste in music.

[ericmetal32]

what´s the name of the song?

[aliasm4n5]

The name of the "song" is J.S.Bach's Chaconne (BWV1004).