LILBURN'S SONATA

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 527, 29 July 1949, Page 5

LILBURN'S SONATA

Sir-To persons who like music and who have trained their minds to like music, Lilburn’s Sonata needs no defence; as a work of art it is satisfying and complete. To appreciate fully and to criticise adequately any new form of art would seem to demand in the critic certain qualities of magnanimity, a special effort to understand new and strange terms and to see them in their own light. He must possess a cultured sensibility and knowledge presumably superior to that of the audience he has in mind; and the knowledge, too, that by publishing his criticism he becomes responsible both to that audience for

guidance and illumination (an- audience, incidentally, to, whom anything approaching hysteria .is distasteful), and to the canons of criticism»which demand that any judgment to be taken seriously must be sane, reasonable and just. Silliness and pettiness have no part in criticism and rightly belong to-the gos-sip-column, ' But a word on * D,. Austin. As a music-critic he scarcely merits serious consideration; his letter displays much irritation, few if rudimentary signs of thought and certainly no attempt at true critical evaluation. His criticism .depends’ for its effect on sarcasm, and presumably on the conviction that all men are either fools or knaves to be persuaded to his way of thinking by nothing more convincing than illexpressed contempt and a display of execrable wit. As‘such it is worthless.

ALISTAIR

CAMPBELL

(Wellington).

Sir-Mr. Austin’s latest letter is puzzling. One wonders whether’ he is sincere in condemning this sonata. I shall assume for the moment that he is, afid examine the three main points in his~criticism. The first is that the work is "very much like two cats upon the keyboard?’ I have picked out what I believe to be the most cat-on-the-key-board-like episodes in the sonata; and I have been studiously experimenting with both our own and our neighbour’s cats in order to reproduce sounds on the piano approximating Mr. Lilburnh’s work. I regret to confess, ‘sir, that I have so far failed most miserably. I have’ still, however, not lost hope. Perhaps further research with strategically placed pieces of meat along the keyboard... but would this be cheating? His second criticism is that there is "not one single bar of genuine musical inspiration." Mr. Austin may have switched his radio on late, and missed the remarkably smooth ‘and beautiful chords near the beginning of the sonata, modulating from A Minor to the remote key of E Flat. There, anyway, are two bars containing genuine musical inspiration. The Third Criticism (I feel it deserves capitals by now) is similar to the second, namely, that there is not "the slightest sign of creative ability in this composition." I am no master of logic, but surely the very existence of ° the sonata itself contradicts this. Mr. Austin now has the temerity to accuse Mr. Lilburn of "pulling the public’s leg (or ear?)" We shall have to

dismiss this suggestion, as it is simply not true. The roguishly al} iterative hint about "mild musical misdemeanour" we must also dismiss as unworthy. But if Mr. Austin’s letter is not serious, then I indict him of’ writing in the’ worst possible taste, possibly harmful to ‘the sensibility of an artist. Perhaps he does not understand of sympathise with this. If he had legitimate, serious criticism to offer, we should have welcomed it; I think that I have proved that there was no such criticism in the letter. The state of New Zealand music is precarious enough. We should all make it our duty to promote this music. It is good music, not yet great perhaps, but showing great developments. We must publish it, play it and record it; we are not else worthy of the name of music-lovers.

ANGRY

STUDENT

(Wellington).