'cause it is not art?
The WaPo did something interesting:
they convinced a top violinist to take his strad to the DC metro and busk at rush hour
seven people stopped to listen, twenty seven gave money total of $32.17 - $20 of that came from the one person out of 1000 who recognized the musician.
the good thing - every single child passing through turned to listen and tried to stop
the bad thing - every one of their parents dragged them away without stopping
- there are pubs in England where big time rock stars sometimes come and play unplugged and unannounced. I think Elvis Costello also did some guerilla busking, but was usually recognised, he probably couldn't do it now because of cell phone flash crowds.
I am astonished no one recognised the play early and phoned it in to gather a crowd.
I am sure I would not have recognised the player had I been there, I like to think I would have stopped.
Unless I was late for a panel, of course...
(h/t tpm
Not many people on the planet can play Bach's Chaconne, so I would have known something unusual was going on if I heard a busker playing it. I wouldn't have recognised Joshua Bell, but I am certain that I would have stayed to listen; the Chaconne has that effect on me.
Well, I'll never know if I would have stopped.
But, a few years ago I was at Covent Garden with the munchkin (1 yrs old then) and a very good string quartet was playing in the market.
It not only kept me listening, but kept the newly toddling munchkin entertained for quite a while, while we waited for the rest of our party. In fact we listened till they stopped playing (and yes, I did give a couple of quid when they passed the hat round).
They had a decent crowd, but I got the sense that it was not unusual for good performers to be there, some good music schools very nearby and it is a friendly area.