Bells and Mitchells…
Accuradio.com is one of the better things in life. Especially if you are a person who likes to think of yourself as having somewhat esoteric tastes. I was listening to the violin soloists sub-channel on Accu Classical last night, and listened to Joshua Bell performing Brahms’ violin concerto in D major and that reminded me of this:
Washington Post- Pearls Before Breakfast
One of the most brilliant articles I’ve read. Ever. And the world kind of agrees, what with this piece winning a Pulitzer and all that. A short summary:
The writer, Gene Weingarten, had a brilliant idea: what if he got a truly great performer (turned out be Joshua Bell, one of the greatest classical violinists alive), and had him perform anonymously in a corner of a Washington DC subway station. Would people still recognise it as great art? Would they throw money in his violin case? Would they recognise him in the first place? What happened that cold morning in DC turned out to be one of the great human interest stories of the age. Folks who have not read the article will probably not really want to read on (but the video posted below is worth watching / listening to anyway).
Weingarten raises some interesting questions regarding the nature of beauty and art. Is it instantly recognisable? Does it automatically reach for your soul (if you’re a Page 3 type, then even if it doesn’t, you’ll still say so, won’t you? -- inside joke, please forgive me)? Or do you need to have some formal training / education to see and appreciate what others may not? End of the day, there are no answers. Only more questions. Kind of like life. Or is it?
Which in turn reminded me of one of my favourite musical idols, Joni Mitchell and her song "For Free"… Ah Joni.. Take a bow!
