Hi! I don't know about the amount of lute players or enthusiasts. Nice to hear that you are willing to support the lute scene by buying editions and CDs - please visit as much concerts as possible, too!
Actually that's what I would like people to do: attending concerts and supporting artist keeps the thing alive - no matter if it's the lute or classical guitar or painting or ... (although I personally am enjoying the lute the most ; - )) I don't know about the CD sales in the US but over here in europe it's a catastophe. You need to buy one of mine because me cellar is full of unsold CDs :- ) But: seriously the amount of CDs produced depends on the company the CD is Producing/marketing. Naxos or Sony will sell much more than small companies. Our CDs (small company) are made in a number of 500 to 2000 and it will takes several years to sell them. Best wishes Thomas Am Sam, 2003-12-06 um 23.55 schrieb Daniel Shoskes: > As I was deleting another repetitive pain in the ass flame post in the ongoing > battle between the > greedy billionaire lute publishers and the brave Trotskyist proletariat struggling > to free the > world's tablature I think I noticed an estimate of about 4000 lute players > worldwide. Is this a > reasonable estimate? Would these range from serious players to people with a lute in > the attic they > haven't touched in 15 years? Include guitarists who tune their g string down a half > step? Include the > pipa and oud? Those people with a Lute Olsen signed basketball? > > As someone who has listened to and enjoyed lute music for over 20 years (and been > playing for 4 > months) it continues to surprise me how many people have never heard of the > instrument or know its > sound (though they have seen them in pictures). Have any of the lute societies made > a coordinated > effort to try to increase public awareness (realizing that about 2% of the general > public would > consider to buy any classical music CD)? It continues to amaze me that when the > Renaissance Fair > comes to South Florida it is PACKED for 2 weeks solid and yet there is not a single > lute teacher less > than a 5 hour drive away from me. I actually got excited when I glanced at the > headline "Odette May > Head to South Florida" before I realized they were talking about the hurricane. > > I've tried to do my part in a small way. I will be bringing my lutes into the > Classical Guitar class > at the high school my kids attend. I've tried to support those who make their living > in the field by > ordering 2 lutes newly made rather than second hand, ordering a number of music > editions from Tree, > Lyre and Orphee even though I have enough downloaded to keep me busy and buying most > of the newly > released CD's (which range from fantastic virtuoso performances to, ahem, less than > steller efforts). > No doubt my efforts are a drop in the bucket. (how many copies of a lute CD are > usually sold > anyway??). > > What have others done on an individual and/or organizational wide level? -- Thomas Schall Niederhofheimer Weg 3 D-65843 Sulzbach 06196/74519 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.lautenist.de / www.tslaute.de/weiss --
