Though this very popular classical-guitar piece is billed as “Variations on a Theme by Sor,” as most of you know, Sor’s “theme” was not his own strictly speaking, but his rendering of a well-known and venerable European theme variously known as La Folia or Les Folies D’Espagne (and other names). Whatever the origin, Catalan composer/guitarist Miguel Llobet (1878–1938) used Sor’s work as a jumping off point to compose his own highly creative variations. Here, the piece is played by the wonderful young guitarist Jennifer Kim (who is part of Manuel Barrueco’s current group of students at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland). The performance is from 2017, courtesy of our friends at Guitar Salon International. Jennifer plays a beautiful 1965 Ignacio Fleta guitar.
Miguel Llobet
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