Australian conductor and educator Richard Gill has branded the notion that teaching children music notation is elitist as “a strange idea indeed” following the Guardian’s publication of an article titled Music is Now Only for the White and Wealthy. The article by Charlotte Gill (no relation) has drawn criticism from music circles around the world, with critics condemning its “anti-intellectualism” and “romanticisation of illiteracy”.

In her article Gill critiques the state of music education in the UK and claims that musical notation is “a cryptic, tricky language – rather like Latin – that can only be read by a small number of people, most of whom have benefited from private education. Children who do not have the resources, or ability, to comprehend it, are written off. Even when they are capable performers.”

The article has drawn a fierce reaction, including a letter by pianist Ian Pace – now published by the Guardian – that has attracted over 650 signatures from music professionals, including conductor Sir Simon Rattle, pianists Imogen Cooper and Stephen Hough, cellist Stephen Isserlis, flautists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway and composers Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Nyman.

As one of Australia’s most...