Jessica Duchen has repeated the now legendary Joshua Bell experiment with the violinist Tasmin Little in London, watching crowd reaction as the star musician busks on her Stradivarius: "....it becomes clear that it's the young people, children and teenagers, who are the most interested, responsive, willing to stop and likely to give their money — even though they, no doubt, have the least resources. As for the well-heeled, grey-haired clientele that we are always told make up the majority of audiences for classical concerts, they are the most likely to turn away, lips pursed in snobbish disapproval...." On a related theme, read about Lisa Bielawa's Chance Encounter project, a site-specific work to be performed in public spaces in downtown Manhattan next September, and follow her musings at her blog.
