He’s there. Look!

http://www.joshuabell.com/photos

“No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made,” wrote Gene Weingarten in an article in the Washington Post.

The violinist was Joshua Bell who had filled the house at Boston’s Symphony Hall three nights before, where good seats went for $100 or more. He played this day on a violin handcrafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari, for which he was reported to have paid 3.5 million dollars.

Those people in the metro station were in for a treat! A free forty-five minute concert by one of the world’s greatest violinists on one of the finest instruments in the world.

Only no one knew it was Bell. He just stood there and played his heart out. That morning of the 1,070 people who hurried by, seven people stopped to take in the performance, at least for a minute. He got $32 for 45 minutes work. Continue reading →