This performance is based on the analysis you just read. Does it suit your taste? Do I overplay it? Do I underplay it? Is the tempo too fast? Too slow? Just right? All these questions and more must be answered by each player who performs this piece.
Unfortunately, Sor etudes such as this are often seen by student guitarists as being too easy. This attitude brings to mind a scene from the 1939 movie “They Shall Have Music” starring Jascha Heifetz (playing himself, of course). At one point in the movie a group of children pepper him with questions. “What’s the hardest piece you play?” asks one child. Replies Heifetz: “They’re all hard.”
In a delicate piece like this, there’s nowhere to hide. Every buzzed note, every miscalculated dynamic, every fudged rhythm stands out in sharp relief. The notion that these pieces are easy to play will amuse anyone who’s serious about playing well. For those who want to improve their playing, Sor’s etudes are a great place to start.
Self Portrait with Daughter: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842)
