KEY POINTS:
FACING THE MUSIC: CHARLES BAEYERTZ AND THE TRIAD
By Joanna Woods
University of Otago Press, $45
In this biography, the meticulous research gives readers an appreciation of New Zealand's cultural history.
Joanna Woods traces the life of Charles Baeyertz, a journalist and music critic famous in his day for his caustic wit and intense belief in the correctness of his own opinions. Baeyertz was born in Australia but at the age of 24, emigrated to Dunedin where he initially taught singing and wrote music reviews for the local paper.
In 1893 he launched Triad a monthly magazine of music, science and art.
Writers, artists and performers such as Katherine Mansfield, Frances Hodgkins, Robyn White, Dame Nellie Melba, Paderewski and Ezra Pound either read, wrote for, or were written about. Woods documents how Baeyertz travelled throughout New Zealand, reporting on the surprising amount of cultural activity in even the smallest towns. She also details his private life and his passion for what he deemed "correct" pronunciation. If there is a complaint it is that the book is too well researched, and there is perhaps too much peripheral information.
