While I was in the city today I heard an erhu player spilling out himself onto the pavement. If you do not know what an erhu is, it is pretty much a Chinese version of the violin. Well anyway I had to watch him, so I sat down and watched him play. He played with such humility and sincerity it almost brought me to tears (happy tears). I honestly felt as if the whole world around muffled out, and it was just me and him in a golden silk room. But like others, the public, he paid us no more attention than a falling leaf in autumn.
The did an experiment in Washington DC where the world champion violinist played in one of the subway stations, and only two people stopped to listen (a child and their parent). He played for something like an hour to.
