A Tribute to Ida Presti Cinzia Milani

• Ida Presti (1924 - 1967):
• 1Danse rythmique02:53
• Alexandre Lagoya (1929 - 1999):
• 2Caprice01:52
• 3Rêverie03:31
• Miguel Ablóniz (1917 - 2001):
• 4Pequeña romanza01:52
• Ida Presti:
• 5Etude du matin02:40
• John Duarte (1919 - 2004):
• 6Idylle pour Ida04:37
• Dimitris Fampas (1921 - 1996):
• 7Concert Study No. 101:17
• 8Concert Study No. 804:20
• Ida Presti:
• 9Segovia06:08
• Gontran Dessagnes (?):
• 10Tendresse03:58
• Cinzia Milani (1975):
• 11Quattro mi04:04
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963):
• 12Sarabande pour guitar, FP 17902:44
• Ida Presti:
• 13Etude 100:46
• 14Etude 202:07
• 15Etude 302:36
• 16Etude 401:02
• 17Etude 501:15
• 18Etude 602:03
• Guy Morancon (1958):
• 19Analecta10:38
• Total Runtime01:00:23

Info for A Tribute to Ida Presti

‘One of the greatest guitarists of all time,’ remarked John Duarte in his entry on Ida Presti for Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Best-known in posterity as one half of the celebrated Presti-Lagoya duo, she is celebrated on this album as a composer and virtuoso in her own right, half a century after her unexpected death in the middle of a US concert tour, at just 43 years of age.

In her booklet-note, Cinzia Milani remarks that she has always considered Presti a role-model, not only for her prodigious talent as a guitarist, but as a female musician in a culture and industry still often dominated by male authority. She presents here six studies by Presti herself, a Danse rhythmique and an Etude du matin, and Presti’s tribute to her own hero, Segovia. Just as Presti dedicated the dance to her husband Lagoya, so Milani follows it with two works which he in turn dedicated to her. Then there are various works by composers little known outside guitar circles such as Miguel Ablóniz and indeed Duarte.

Through all these works may be traced the joyous personality of Presti herself, summed up by her granddaughter Isabelle in the booklet as ‘elegant nimbleness, luminous musicality and wonderful self-confidence’. She was friends with many of the composers such as Gontran Dessagnes, who wrote his Tendesse for her in 1954. The work by Guy Morançon is a tribute to her memory, composed in the wake of her death. Finally, Milani has written her own tribute, Quattro Mi, in admiration for the extraordinary facility of Presti in holding down the note E (Mi in solfege) on four different strings simultaneously.

By its nature, the album is unique in the catalogue, of immediate interest to guitarists and anyone curious about a great artist of the last century.

This recording was made on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Ida Presti, one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century, a pioneering woman who used her extraordinary talents for the popularization of her instrument and the music written for it.

Italian guitarist Cinzia Milano compiled the program for this new recording, consisting of original works by Ida Presti as well as works by other composers which are dedicated to her: Alexandre Lagoya, Miguel Ablóniz, John Duarte, Dimitri Fampas, Gontran Dessagnes and Francis Poulenc.

The booklet contains contributions by the artist as well as by Isabelle Presti, the granddaughter of Ida Presti.

Cinzia Milani, classical guitar

Cinzia Milani
Begins studying the classical guitar at a very young age and consequently, after private study, is able to graduate from the Conservatorio "A. Boito", in Parma, at 18.

Cinzia studied with several teachers, and develops her sophisticated guitar technique with the famous and highly-regarded guitar master Mauro Storti; she later studies interpretative analysis with argentinian composer Oscar Roberto Casares.

When only 5 years old she wins first prize at the International Competition of Milan, and at 7 years old she is awarded the "Ambrogino d’oro" by the Municipality of Milan for its extraordinary and precocious musical ability; at 10 she wins the "Trofeo Beniamino Gigli", in Recanati, is marked 100/100. By the age of 14 she has already won sixteen first prizes in International and National Competitions.

In 1991, in Parma, she is awarded the "Premio F. Margola" for best execution and interpretation.

By the age of 12, she begins her concert career in Italy finding acclaim in critics and audiences alike, leading her to perform all over the world. The most influential British and American press devote the important reportage in which it is defined as "a rare combination of beauty, grace, natural elegance and a deep sense of music with a brilliant technique and a powerful sound and expressive, considered among the best exponents of the concert artists in the world."

Cinzia has already amassed an impressive discography: in addition to recording for Rai Radio 2 and Antenna 3, in 1994 she collaborates with composer A. Prandi to catalogue previously unpublished music for the guitar. Meanwhile, tracks from her CD “Ritratto di Donna”, recorded for the Jump Musical Edition label, are aired by RAI in Italy as well as by French, German and Japanese national television stations and films.

She performed as a guitarist and also as a dancer and singer in the argentinian show “Sonatango” and recorded the CD “Sonatango”.

Cinzia has performed around Canada and the United States and also she taught guitar master classes at Royal Conservatory of Toronto.

In the latest years she performed in Mexico and she was a part of jury at “Concurso Internacional de Guitarra de Sinaloa”.

She created the show "Venere" of music composed and performed live by her, in collaboration with the dance company "Performing Dance": the feminine universe told through music and dance.

Further to her work as a guitarist, are her activities as a violinist; graduate in violin, she plays in various orchestras and, with them, performs both in Italy, Spain and France.

Booklet for A Tribute to Ida Presti