Re: OT: Busking--it's hard for everyone

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Quoting Travis Hartnett <tiktok@sprintmail.com>:

> What if one of the greatest musicians in the world
> played some of the best music ever written on one of the best
> instruments ever made...in the subway?
>
> 
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?hpid=artslot


This article showed up on the electro-music forums yesterday and I've  
had some time to digest it.

The people who recognized the talent for what it was were people who  
had already cultivated an appreciation for music.

For instance, what if a restaurant substituted a $300-per-bottle wine  
for their house wine.  How many people would notice that they were  
drinking a rare, expensive wine?  I would suppose that the only people  
who would notice would be those who have cultivated taste and  
knowledge about wine.

The Bach sounded wonderful in the video and somehow it added something  
wonderful to the place, even though most people didn't stop to  
acknowledge it.  Wish I had been there.

I found that I could take heart from this.  Every week I play the  
organ for around 1000 people and in general I will get a few  
compliments -- generally from people who have traveled to Europe and  
heard organ music in great cathedrals there.  So, my ratio of  
listeners to compliments is about the same as the violinist.  Not bad!  
  :)