This collection of etudes has an interesting twist or two in its history, which has only recently been unearthed. For decades this collection was listed as having been composed in 1929. The published edition and other circumstances surrounding the composition give no obvious clue concerning the existence of an earlier version. In 1996, however, it was revealed by Eduardo Fernandez in the magazine Guitar Review that another manuscript of these etudes was in existence, carrying the date of 1928. It turned out that this version had been filed away unnoticed for many years in the Villa-Lobos museum in Rio de Janeiro. The question several scholars have asked in recent times is whether the later version amounts to a revision by the composer, or is a touching-up by another hand.
The changes are not substantial though; in No. 10 and No. 11 of the 1928 set, there are some sections not found in the later versions. It should be noted that either version is a good representation of the composer’s musical ideas, but the original may be slightly more substantial. How did the changes come about? There is no definitive answer, but it seems that Andrés Segovia may have suggested some or perhaps all of them to Villa-Lobos , who, perhaps out of deference to the judgment of the great guitarist or due to doubts in his own abilities, incorporated them into the score.
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