#2 - Must Be True

[cindyhylee87]

Hi,

I understand why (A)(B)(C)(D) are wrong. However, I could not justify answer(E) because it seems to me that line 55 and onward explains the great influence of London pianists who composed music. Doesn't that contradict to answer (E)?

Thanks,
Cindy

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, Cindy,

Excellent question. It is important here to differentiate between "modern times" and the period referenced around line 55. In line 55 and onward the author discusses what occurred during the period during which the London Pianoforte school flourished, 1766-1873. Thus, the fact that this school was influential on Continental musicians during this time does not contradict the inference that the work of these composers has become little known in modern times.

Direct evidence for this inference may be found around line 9, in which the author attests that much of "this repertory has more or less vanished from our historical consciousness," this statement pursuant to the observation that this work is unavailable in modern scholarly editions.

Further, consider also the main point of the passage, in part that Temperley has made a significant contribution to scholarship with his rigorous and thorough new anthology, which reintroduces many significant works of the Pianoforte school to modern scholars, works which had been unavailable or overlooked.

I commend you on your close-reading of this passage and hope this explanation helps!

[cindyhylee87]

Thank you. It's clear now

[gweatherall]

Hi!
I actually was not able to determine why answer (A) is not correct. Line 10 states: "Granted, the sonatas and Gradus ad Parnassum of Muzio Clementi and the nocturnes of John Field have remained familiar enough...but the work of other leading representatives...has eluded serious attempts at revival."- and I assume the "leading representatives" are meant to be representatives of the London Piano School- of which, according to the preceding sentence, John Field is one. If this is true, why can't we conclude that "the nocturnes of John Field typify the London Pianoforte school style"?
It's interesting, because I actually felt vaguely dissatisfied by answer (A), but the more I searched the paragraph in question, the more convinced I became that it was correct. Help! haha

[Luke Haqq]

Hi gweatherall!

Good question. I think the problem with (A) and the language you quote is that it relies on the claim that "...the nocturnes of John Field have remained familiar enough...but the work of other leading representatives..."

You're right to note that the "other leading representatives" language makes it evident that Field is a leading representative. However, answer (A) states, "The nocturnes of John Field typify the London Pianoforte school style." This is a bit narrower of a statement--we don't know from the passage whether Field's nocturnes specifically typify the London Pianoforte school. This could be true, but since we don't know this, it can't be the right answer for a inference/must be true question.

Hope that helps!

[gweatherall]

Thanks, Luke! I have to admit that I'm still a little uncomfortable with this question- my instinct tells me that the "leading representatives" phrase, tied to the mention of John Field's nocturnes in the passage, would be enough to infer that John Field's nocturnes typify the London Pianoforte School altogether. In the hope of putting my worry to rest, is it fair to say the following?:

1) In order to "infer" something on the LSAT, we have to be able to definitely prove it to be true- it can't just be "likely to be true"
2) The passage at large suggests that it's not clear that there is a definitive "style" of the London Pianoforte School, so answer A should be suspect from the start

Assuming the above are true, I think I can move on from this question feeling solid about its reasoning!

Thanks again for your helpful response!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi gweatherall!

Yes, you're definitely right on both counts 1) and 2).

It's worth emphasizing that 1) is true. If you see the language "which of the following can be inferred...," then you know you're dealing with a must-be-true question. And you're virtually certain to see answers on that type of question that are "likely to be true"--these are never the right answer on a must-be-true question.

And on 2), yes, you're right to point out that (A) should be suspect off the bat, given that the passage overall is on the difficulty of defining the essence of the London Pianoforte School.

[gweatherall]

Great, thanks Luke! I feel much better about this question in general now.

[mikewazowski]

I got tripped up on the term "modern times". Don't we live in modern times? Or should it be obvious to the reader that modern times means that time period when the music was lost?

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

While context needs to be taken into account, mikewazowski, I think it's a safe bet that any time an author writes about "modern times" they are referring to the era in which the passage was written. The reference in the first paragraph to "modern
scholarly editions" would mean scholarly works written fairly recently, at least relative to the time period in which the music being written about was composed.