Forgetful Musicians, Helpful Cabbies

Musicians, almost by definition, are a creative, right-brained sort of lot. Perhaps that’s why they are often so forgetful — at least when it comes to taking their belongings out of cabs.

On Monday, a Korean musician was reunited with his pricey 18th century violin — valued around $600,000 — the same day he accidentally left it in a cab that dropped him off at his Chinatown apartment.

According to The New York Times, Hahn-Bin, who only uses his first name, played a concert in the Hamptons over the weekend. He took a bus back to Lincoln Center Monday morning, and from there, hopped in a cab back home. Perhaps eager to get into his abode after a long weekend hobnobbing with the Hamptons glitterati, the musician rushed out of the cab without taking his prized violin or credit card with him. Once home, he took a shower and then quickly realized his mistake — and we guess his heart leapt into his throat.

Hahn-Bin called 311, NYC’s helpline, and within an hour his belongings were located. The key was GPS, now standard in all cabs, that made it possible for the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission to track down the right cab based on a description of the route followed. (It’s all a teensy bit Big Brother-ish to us, but clearly it has its advantages.)

This is far from the first time a stringed instrument was left behind in a cab. In 1999, Yo-Yo Ma left his cello in a taxi trunk, which prompted a citywide search in the pre-GPS age. In May 2001 another musician left a $4 million Stradivarius cello in a cab. Still others have left pricey violins, violas and bows inside taxis — and miraculously, they have almost always been returned.

“You could probably string together an entire orchestra from the folks that have left cello, violas and violins in the back of cabs,” said Matthew W. Daus, the chairman of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

That’s a concert we’d like to see.

Photo courtesy of holliebark via stock.xchang