Search - Alexandre Lagoya :: L'Art de Alexandre Lagoya Avec Ida Presti

Master of the guitar

Paul Magnussen | Campbell, CA USA | 01/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alexandre Lagoya (1929-99) was already a fine guitarist in his own right when he met and married Ida Presti, the best female guitarist of the 20th century, and probably of all time. Together they formed what has been called the greatest duo in the history of the classical guitar. They were to the duo what Segovia was to the solo instrument: they innovated technically and musically and made something like fifteen world tours, inspiring nearly all the best modern composers to write for the medium, while at the same time generating an entire new body of transcriptions from instruments such as the harpsichord. They also inspired and taught several other duos who are now among the best in the World, including Ako Ito & Henri Dorigny and the Athenian Duo (Evangelos & Liza). Their fame and impact were still accelerating when, on a tour of the United States in 1967, Ida Presti was taken suddenly ill and died. She was forty-two.



Presti/Lagoya's early recordings were on French RCA, and these were issued as a 2-CD boxed set (7 43212 58662), now deleted. However, the sound quality was mediocre, and many of the tracks were re-recorded for Philips.



The complete Philips recordings in turn were issued on a 3-CD boxed set. That set, too, is now deleted; but, it is (happily) completely subsumed by the present album.



The Presti/Lagoya recordings are some of the most brilliant classical guitar music ever put together. The range and beauty of the the duo's sound is ravishing, their musicality is a joy to hear, and their togetherness was unequalled until the advent of today's Assad brothers. It's hard to pick a highlight, but one such must certainly be the astonishing "Chaconne in G Major" by Handel, consisting of 22 variations on a ground bass with each variation played with a different tone colour.



I was fortunate enough to catch a Presti/Lagoya concert at London's Wigmore Hall. I'd never seen anything like it, and I still haven't, even after twenty years as a concert reviewer.



This definitive tribute to Lagoya clocks in at 7 hours 55 minutes, of which 3 hours 41 minutes are the Presti/Lagoya recordings (some tape hiss, inevitably, is evident on the latter). The balance seems to be Lagoya's complete output for Philips, minus Albéniz's "Mallorca" and the Diabelli "Sonata in A Major" (both from "Le gentilhomme de la guitare" -- the former is available on Récital).



It is not cheap, but I found this worth buying even though I already have the Presti/Lagoya set. Times have moved on, and Lagoya's playing may now be considered old-fashioned by some; his tone, of course, is beautiful, whatever your interpretive preferences.



For myself, I find many of his interpretations wonderful, with a warmth seldom found today. His versions of the Villa-Lobos Preludes are (with Bream's) my favourites. The outer movements of the Concierto de Aranjuez are a little lacking in fire, and consequently somewhat disappointing; but the middle movement (the famous one) is stunning.



Your mileage may differ, of course.



Here is a complete track listing: the asterisks indicate works performed by the duo.



VOLUME 1



1) Anna Magdalena Notebook: Musette [Bach]

2) Anna Magdalena Notebook: Minuet [Bach]

3) Anna Magdalena Notebook: March [Bach]

4) Lute Suite Nº 3, BWV 995: Prelude & Fugue [Bach]

5) English Suite Nº 3, BWV 808: Courante [Bach]*

6) English Suite Nº 3, BWV 808: Allemande [Bach]*

7) English Suite Nº 3, BWV 808: Prelude [Bach]*

8-10) Serenade in G Major, Op. 96, Nº 3 [Carulli]*

11) Chaconne in G Major, HWV 442 [Handel]*

12) Fugue in G Major, HWV 605 [Handel] *

13) Allegro in D Minor [Handel]*

14) Sonata, K. 322, L. 483 [D. Scarlatti]

15) Sonata, K. 481, L. 187 [D. Scarlatti]

16) Sonata, K. 380, L. 23 [D. Scarlatti]*

17) Sonata, K. 173, L. 447 [D. Scarlatti]*

18) Sonata, K. 391, L. 79 [D. Scarlatti]

19) Sonata, K. 77, L. 168 [D. Scarlatti]

20) Fantasie [Weiss]



VOLUME 2



1) Fantasia [Mudarra]

2) Romanesca [Mudarra]

3) Sonata in B Minor [Gallés]*

4-7) Suite Nº 1 in A Major [Marella]*

8) Canarios [Sanz]

9) Pavanas [Sanz]

10) Sonata in D Major, R 84 [Soler] *

11) Sonata in D Minor [Soler]*

12) Cantabile [Vanhal]

13) Variations On "Malbrough s'en va-t-en Guerre" [Sor]

14) Study Nº 5 in B Minor, Op. 35, Nº 22 [Sor]

15) Study Nº 6 in D, Op. 35, Nº 17 [Sor]

16) Study, Op. 31, Nº 23 [Sor]

17) Study, Op. 31, Nº 24 [Sor]

18) Minuet in D, Op. 11, Nº 5 [Sor]

19) Waltz Nº 6 [Sor]

20) Waltz in G [Sor]

21) Waltz Nº 3 [Sor]

22-23) L'encouragement, Op. 34 [Sor]*



VOLUME 3



1) Introduction & Variations [Sor]

2-4) Concerto in D Minor [Marcello]*

5-7) Concerto in C, RV 425 [Vivaldi]*

8-10) Concerto in G, RV 532 [Vivaldi]*

11-13) Concerto in G, Nº 2 [Haydn]*

14-16) Concerto in D, RV 93 [Vivaldi]

17-19) Concerto in D, Op. 14, Nº 3 [Vivaldi]



VOLUME 4



1) Recuerdos de la Alhambra [Tárrega]

2) Spanish Dance Nº 2, Orientale, Op. 37 [Granados]*

3) Goyescas: Intermezzo [Granados]*

4) Ritual Fire Dance [Falla]*

5) La vida breve: Spanish Dance Nº 1 [Falla]*

6-8) Concierto de Aranjuez [Rodrigo]

9-11) Tonadilla [Rodrigo]*

12-15) Fantasía para un Gentilhombre [Rodrigo]

16) Prelude & Fugue Nº 4 in E Major [Castelnuovo-Tedesco]*



VOLUME 5



1) Suite Española, Op. 47, Nº 5: Asturias [I. Albéniz]

2) Cantos de España, Op. 232, Nº 9: Zambra Granadina [I. Albéniz]

3) España, Op. 165: Tango [I. Albéniz]*

4) Piezas características, Op. 92: Danza [I. Albéniz]*

5) Suite Española, Op. 47, Nº 3: Sevilla [I. Albéniz]

6-8) Sonatina in A [Moreno Torroba]

9) Nocturno [Moreno Torroba]

10) Fandanguillo, Op. 36 [Turina]

11-13) Sonata [Turina]

14) Study Nº 11 [Villa-Lobos]

15) Study Nº 8 [Villa-Lobos]

16-20) Preludes Nºs 1-5 [Villa-Lobos]



VOLUME 6



1) Romance de Amor [Anon]

2) Adagio [Albinoni]*

3) Canzone in E Minor [Pasquini]*

4) Concerto in D Minor: Andante in D Minor [Marcello]*

5) Passacaille [Weiss]

6) Sarabande in D, HWV 437 [Handel]

7) Minuet [Schubert]

8-10) Sonata concertata [Paganini]*

11) Suite Bergamesque: Clair de lune [Debussy]*

12) Improvisation in E Flat Minor, Nº 12 [Poulenc]*

13) Scherzino Mexicano [Ponce]

14) Toccata [Petit]*

15) Tarantelle [Petit]*

16) Etude Fantasque [Presti]*

17) Variations on "Jeux Interdits" [Lagoya]"