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World Famous Violinist Plays in Subway
Street musicians playing for money are a common sight and sound in the Washington DC metro stations. But recently, something very uncommon happened on the way to work for a thousand commuters. They got to hear one of the best violinists in the world play for free. Only nobody told them... And none of them even noticed!
Back in January, the world-class violinist Joshua Bell played in a metro station. He put down his open violin case to collect donations and performed his music. The idea was to see if people passing by would notice his incredible skill.
In concert halls, people pay a hundred dollars a ticket to hear his music. His violin was made in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari and is worth over three and a half million dollars. Bach wrote the music he played. The piece is considered one of the most difficult to play.
Mr. Bell has played the violin his entire life. He has always had an ear for music. When he was four, his parents noticed that he was stringing rubber bands onto his dresser drawer and strumming them to play classical music. He was even moving the drawer to change the notes he played. They took him to his first violin lesson and he quickly became a talented player.
But in the train station, people barely noticed the genius at work. A few people threw a dollar or some coins into his case. Mr. Bell made thirty-two dollars in all. He said it was humbling being ignored by his audience.
I'm Isaac and that's what happened in the arts this week!
Joshua is truly a famous classical musician. How about we play Just the Facts so we know a little more about him?
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