Several people have written me asking if there was any follow-up on my
earlier questions about the relation of sound, appearance and
historical/cultural value to the price of shakuhachi.
I have received many responses - but intrestingly enough - people do not
feel comfortable discussing these issues in a public forum. Some, as owners
of extensive collections, were afraid that there response would sound too
self-interested. Others were afraid of hurting the feelings and financial
interests of established collectors and flute makers. And a third group, I
think, just didn't think their humble opinion had enough legitimacy and
authority to warrant the attention of the entire list.
But basically - this is the persepctive that I have culled from the many
responses: I think the comparision of shakuhachi to wine is a sound one. As
someone with a rudimentary understanding of wine - $20 bucks can get me a
wine that will make me very satisfied and happy. For this reasonable amount
of money - I can take a long swig, enjoy the taste - and say 'what a
wonderful wine!' In this simple spirit - several people, accomplished
shakuhachi players, stated that they had found excellent flutes, that had
given them tremendous satisfaction, for prices ranging from $600 to $1200.
Now- I personally know wine experts who can taste the difference between a
$100 bottle and a $1000 dollar bottle of wine. I could never, nor do I know
if I would ever want to be able, to distinguish between wines on this level.
And obviously, the $20 dollar bottle of wine is not going to make these
people as content as it will make me.
These people have wine cellars with collections of many wines from different
countries, geographical areas, vintage years, and so on. For them the
differences between these wines are tangible and very meaningful. I admire
these people for the seriousness, passion and knowledge they bring to their
collections. From my clearly limited perspective I think that serious wine
and shakuhachi collectors are comparable in that the qualitative differences
they are concerned with are not easily accessible to the untrained palate or
ear.
And on a somewhat side note - the really serious collectors have lots of
flutes for very practical reasons - they recognize the character of each
instrument and want to match it with a particular type of music. I am sure
that for non-professional musicians, the idea of having a different flute
for each different kind of music is just not a realistic ambition.
(Excluding those with large amounts of disposable income of course.)Again
this just demonstrates the differences between the mentality of the expert,
master performer/collector and the that of the 'common' musician.
Please be aware that I wouldn't be too surprised if a year from now I
thought that the above was completly uninformed nonsense. If someone a bit
more experienced on this issue wants to shed some more light on this issue -
please do so.
Stav Tapuch
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