Sonata for Solo Violin (1969) demonstrates the consummate craftsmanship and refinement in Carr's writing. Central to this work is an exploration of the melodic and expressive possibilities of the violin within the framework of a 12-tone system. A variety of meticulous bowing articulations are juxtaposed against one another throughout the four contrasting movements of the work. The score also calls for extreme dynamic and registral changes, which adds to its virtuosic and challenging appeal as a highly expressive work. It is also intriguing to study as a representative 12-tone work in considering the reception of European modernism within New Zealand composition during the late 1960s.

This sonata dates from an era when some of New Zealand's leading composers were exploring serialism as a new musical language. Lilburn, Tremain, McLeod, Speirs and others had all written serial music by this time. Carr, however, was not convinced that Schoenberg – the pioneer of serialism – had got it right in creating an atonal style out of tone rows. Indeed, Carr was vocal in his criticism of music that followed Schoenberg's approach, and particularly critical of post – Second World War developments in this area. Carr still adopted serialism but framed it within a tonal context, using a system of pitch circularity. The result was a 12-tone style of music that is somewhat more approachable to listen to than atonal styles from the same time.