Ida Presti plays "Guajira" by Emilio Pujol (1882-1980).If you concentrate on the music you will hear superlative guitar playing. Nothing is missing here. A reference in: tone quality, intensity, phrasing, rythmic vitality and dynamism,sustain, great vibrato sound, colours and character. Plus a unique quality in the pizzicato where the sound although damped is still resonant with harmonics.Recorded in France in the 1950's.Want to know more about Ida Presti? Please read this:Written by Maestro Angelo Gilardino on the classical guitar newsgroup on Saturday, May 22, 2004 9:18 PMShe was the greatest firstly and simply in terms of her skills with theinstrument: she could do with fingers things that no other guitarist coulddo. Her hands were phisically "different" (by nature and for having beenmanipulated by her father since when she was a baby). She produced theloudest, roundest, fullest, tone ever heard: only Lagoya - since when theymet and formed the duo - could match her, and only in certain situations.The tones she produced in certain recordings of the duo ("Goyescas" byGranados, just to give an instance, but one could add many other examples)is the best tone I ever heard from a guitarist - and I listened to all ofthem who gave concerts after my birth - and she could produce a variety oftones, with a correspondent amplitude of dynamic range, that nobody else hasmatched so far. She could play a sort of "legato" unique to her playing,and to nobody else's playing. Her vibrato - still documented in the duorecordings, take for example the "Adagio" by Albinoni-Giazotto - is stillabove anybody else's possibilities. She was - simply - unmistakable. I neverheard a wrong note from her. Jack Duarte, who was a strict friend of hers,can witness that in the hundred times he listened to her practicing, henever heard one single mistake from her. Her virtuosity - a stunning one -has been matched by several players nowadays, but at which price, in termsof sound, expression, etc.? Consider that, after her severe training duringher childhood, she did not practice very much, her life being spent mainlyin travels and concerts..,But all of this prodigy was serving the mostimportant purpose: she was a marvelous musician, with a direct, immediate,unabriged vision of the music. Her drawing rhythms, melodies, voices incounterpoint, chords, was simply perfect. She played so well, that youcouldn't realize she played well, because you received the music in such anaccomplished way that you were allowed to forget she was playing aninstrument, and that she was skilled. Her skills disappeared with her doingthe music. Her fellows, in the heavens of 20th century interpreters, are tobe sought outside guitarists: I would say Dinu Lipatti, and only a few otherones.

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