Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 30, 1990 TAG: 9003300392
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The special show for Graseck's straphanging fans was a new experience for the violinist, who usually plays Beethoven over screeching brakes or performs Paganini on a packed platform.
"It is a dream come true in a way," Graseck said hours before his performance. "But at the same time, the main thing is I've worked very hard to develop a rapport with my fellow New Yorkers."
Those New Yorkers - 1,096 of 'em at $16 a pop - bought out the hall at Lincoln Center for Graseck's show. The violinist planned a 75-minute program of classical music but played at least a dozen encores. Most were excerpts running no longer than three to five minutes - about the time one has to wait for a train.
After the show, he hung out with the audience in the lobby.
"Elaine, from the World Trade Center stop! Good to see you," he said, hugging one straphanger fan and waving to another. "Bob, I'll see you at the Long Island Railroad, OK?"
"Everyone in the hall, with the exception of my family, is someone I've met playing on the street. I'm taking them from outside in the subways to inside at the concert hall," said Graseck.
His subway supporters actually helped finance his show. Graseck said the $5,000 he has paid to rent Alice Tully Hall for the night came partially from the change tossed his way by commuters.
Graseck studied at Juilliard; one of his teachers, Christine Dethier, planned to attend Thursday's performance. He also taught for a few years in Columbus, Ga.
His initial mass transit performance came in 1968 on a Long Island Rail Road car, Graseck said. He made $10 in five minutes, and a star was born.
"At first I did it just for the money," he confessed. "But the applause, the smiles, made me feel as though I was reaching the hearts of people. It's very spontaneous,very communicative."
Graseck has played on and on since then. His favorite platform to play on is at 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue. He has memories - some of them pretty strange - from every spot.
He remembers playing "The Nutcracker Suite" for a nude, dancing man in the 77th Street subway station. He met his wife, Suzanne, while playing beneath 666 Fifth Ave. He once handled a request for "The Billy Tell Overture" in Times Square.
by CNB