Conclusion: Values

Abstract

In early 2007, a staff writer at The Washington Post organized an unscientific but revealing experiment. What would happen if a world-class musician performed incognito in the Washington Metro during the morning rush hour? Would he be recognized? Would commuters stop and listen? Would they give him any money? The paper approached Joshua Bell, acknowledged to be one of the finest violinists in the world, and owner of one of the finest violins in the world — a Stradivarius crafted in 1713. Bell agreed and, dressed in casual clothes and a baseball cap, he treated commuters at L’Enfant Plaza Station in the heart of Washington to a free concert. The pieces he played were among the greatest musical works ever written, including the famous Bach “Chaconne” from the Partita No. 2 in D minor — surely a sublime musical work if any is. Editors at the paper thought there might be a problem with crowd control if Bell was recognized, and certainly in such a sophisticated demographic as Washington this was a strong possibility. What if so many people gathered that rush-hour pedestrian traffic backed up and tempers flared? They discussed how to deal with possible outcomes. The experiment was conceived as a test of context, perception, priorities and public taste. As they put it: “In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?”