A Tribute to Ida Presti Cinzia Milani

• Ida Presti (1924 - 1967):
• 1 Danse rythmique 02:53
• Alexandre Lagoya (1929 - 1999):
• 2 Caprice 01:52
• 3 Rêverie 03:31
• Miguel Ablóniz (1917 - 2001):
• 4 Pequeña romanza 01:52
• Ida Presti:
• 5 Etude du matin 02:40
• John Duarte (1919 - 2004):
• 6 Idylle pour Ida 04:37
• Dimitris Fampas (1921 - 1996):
• 7 Concert Study No. 1 01:17
• 8 Concert Study No. 8 04:20
• Ida Presti:
• 9 Segovia 06:08
• Gontran Dessagnes (?):
• 10 Tendresse 03:58
• Cinzia Milani (1975):
• 11 Quattro mi 04:04
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963):
• 12 Sarabande pour guitar, FP 179 02:44
• Ida Presti:
• 13 Etude 1 00:46
• 14 Etude 2 02:07
• 15 Etude 3 02:36
• 16 Etude 4 01:02
• 17 Etude 5 01:15
• 18 Etude 6 02:03
• Guy Morancon (1958):
• 19 Analecta 10:38
• Total Runtime 01:00:23

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
began studying classical guitar at a very young age and after private studies, graduated from the Conservatorio "A Boito" in Parma at the age of 18. Â She has studied with many teachers and developed her guitar technique with the distinguished guitar master Mauro Storti, subsequently going on to study interpretative analysis with the Argentinian composer Oscar Roberto Casares.

When Cinzia Milani was only 5 years old she won the international competition of Milan. Also, at the age of 7 she was awarded the "Ambrogino d'oro" by the Municipality of Milan for her extraordinary and precocious musical ability and at the age of 10 she won the "Trofeo Beniamino Gigli" in Recanati, was marked 100/100 points.

In 1991 in Parma, Cinzia Milani was awarded the "Premio F. Margola" for best execution and interpretation.

By the age of 12, she began her concert career in Italy and went on to perform all over the world: United Kingdom, France, Spain, The United States, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, South America.

By the age of 14 Cinzia Milani had already won sixteen first prize in International and National Competitions.

Cinzia Milani caught the attention of British and American press, which defined her as "a rare combination of beauty, grace, natural elegance..." and as having "a deep sense of music with a brilliant technique and a powerful sound and expression, considered among the best exponents of the concert artists in the world..."

Cinzia Milani has already amassed an impressive discography: in addition to recording for Rai Radio 2 and Antenna 3, in 1994 she has collaborated 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, have been broadcast on RAI in Italy as well as on French, German and Japanese national television stations and films.

Cinzia has also performed as a guitarist, dancer and singer in the argentinian show called "Sonatango" and later recorded a CD with the same name. Also she recorded the cd "Guitar", Amadeus Label, Italian music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Margola, Domeniconi, Prandi, and also pieces wrote for her by the composers Cacciola and Betta. She has performed around Canada and the United States and she has taught guitar masterclasses at Royal Conservatory of Toronto.

She then went on to create a show called "Venere" consisting of music composed and performed live by her, in collaboration with the dance company "Performing Danza". This show represents the feminine universe told through music and dance.

She's working on a women project dedicated to great composer, concertist guitarist of last century. The cds containing First World Recording. The first cd released was "A Tribute to Ida Presti", a great project Brilliant label: works for solo guitar by Ida Presti and works by others composers written to Ida. She performed on stage with the Ida Presti's guitars : Gomez Ramirez 1934 & 1936. The "Classical Guitar Magazine" nominated the video of "Danse Rythmique" by Ida Presti played by Cinzia Milani "video pick of the week".

The second cd of that collection is "A Tribute to Teresa De Rogatis", works for solo guitar. International press describe it "this is the great merit of operations like that of Cinzia Milani: these two tributes, which I hope will continue to follow, show the presence of new musical territories unjustly left behind and almost forgotten by critics and music education short-sighted and regressive. This is the contemporary key to the work of Cinzia Milani. Her almost archival research has created a new artistic path that draws abundantly from the past, presenting it in a new light. It's a work of revitalization, of revisitation, of stylistic revival. Hightly recommended".

In addition to her career as a guitarist, she plays the violin and has played in various orchestras in Italy, Spain and France.

She is testimonial of "Royal Classics Strings" and "Bam cases".

Booklet for A Tribute to Ida Presti