Unlike the recent busking stints of Little and Bell, however, Juritz's busking adventures are more than a sociological experiment: according to his website, he hopes to raise money for a new fund called Musequality (www.musequality.org) which will finance music projects for children in deprived areas.

He began his journey this past Saturday (June 8) in West London, where he set off with an empty wallet, a backpack and his 1748 Guadagnini violin. During his "Round the World and Bach" tour, in which he celebrates his 50th birthday, he will primarily play Bach, mostly selections from the Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin.

"I used to busk as a student so rather than arrange concerts I decided to do a busking trip," the Times of London quotes him as saying. "I've got to start with an empty wallet and I'm going to have to earn some serious money to get a Eurostar ticket."

London councils haven't made his start easier; the Times reports that he Juritz has faced difficutly obtaining busking licences. "I'm now having to have a police officer with me if I want to play in Covent Garden," he said.

Juritz played on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film The Last King of Scotland and on several Naxos recordings. In 1991 he was appointed leader of the U.K.'s longest established chamber orchestra, the London Mozart Players. He first began busking as a student at the Royal College of Music.