The violinist returns to the Washington D.C. Metro to raise awareness for music ed
In a notorious stunt back in 2007, acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell played his $3 million Stradavarius in a Washington D.C. Metro station wearing a baseball cap as a part of a sociological experiment organized by the Washington Post. On Tuesday, September 30, Bell is returning to the D.C. Metro, this time with some fanfare and plenty of advance notice for passengers.
A YouTube clip of the first D.C. Metro event:
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Reportedly, 27 people stopped to watch him play, whereas more than 1,000 walked right past him and carried on with their day. “It turned out pretty much how I expected,” Bell told SBO in a feature story in December of 2009. “For the most part, people walked by or ran by and didn’t really take the time to listen. A few did, though, and it was interesting to see who did. “
Bell’s motivation for playing this encore in the Metro system, he says, is trifold: to promote music education; his new Bach album recorded with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which will be released the same day; and an upcoming HBO special: “Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass.”
