Stunt

Reading The New York Times over lunch today, I ran across a small article that captured my attention. It started on the front page with a small blurb tucked at the bottom of the page. The teaser said, The Washington Post received 6 Pulitzers, the most received by any newspaper in a given year. The New York Times won two.

My attention was piqued.

A Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post for Feature Writing.

In minute detail he portrays an account of a Grammy Award winning violinist by the name of Joshua Bell playing anonymously outside of a subway station during rush hour.

People would easily pay over a hundred dollars a ticket to see him perform in concert halls in any major city.

But here he was playing anonymously outside of a subway station during the city's busiest time. Weingarten was curious if people would stop and listen to this virtuoso.

Meticulously recording every detail, Weingarten noted that during 45 minutes over a thousand commuters hurried past Joshua Bell. As the violinist prepared to put his instrument back in its case, he fumbled the loose change and added it up. $32.17

That in itself is shocking. What is even more shocking was that Weingarten, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, admitted later that the whole thing was a stunt. Yes, the journalist had orchestrated the whole thing.

A stunt.

I am not sure how I feel about all of that. I am intrigued by the fact that Joshua Bell played for 45 minutes to a passing crowd of over a thousand and made $32.17. The fruit tray in the green room of large concert halls where he played probably cost more than $32.17

How could people miss the fact that in their presence was a concert genius? How did they see past the fact that the same music in the concert hall was available outside at the mouth of the subway?

It has caused me to wonder. Do I miss genius just because it doesn't appear in a package that I would recognize? Do I fail to experience the work of the Master because it is on the street rather than in a church?

Just a thought.