What the press says:
THE COMPOSITIONS OF IDA PRESTI FOR TWO GUITARS
IDA PRESTI: La Hongroise: Danse d’Avila: Danse Gitane: Espagne: Prélude: Berceuse a ma mère: Étude No. 1: Valse de l’An nouveau: Tarantelle: Bagatelle: Sérénade: Étude fantasque. Olivier Chassain, Stein-Erik Olsen SIMAX PSC1289
This is a remarkable new release, both in terms of the music offered and the story behind the project. For one thing the music is performed on the Robert Bouchet guitars which belonged to Ida Presti and Alexandre Lagoya, instruments so valuable that they could not be taken outside the premises of the Musée de la Musique, Paris, where this recording was made. Moreover, this disc presents the complete duo works composed by Presti between 1955 and 1966, never before offered in their entirety.
Olivier Chassain and Stein-Erik Olsen rehearsed this repertoire for some two years before committing their interpretation to posterity. The sound quality and ensemble integration achieved here is so extraordinarily reminiscent of the Presti-Lagoya sonorities that one can truly imagine being taken back to the 1960s, before Presti’s tragically premature death at the age of forty-three in April 1967.
These guitar duets, apart from Berceuse à ma mère (completed a month after her mother’s death in September 1957), were dedicated to her husband, Alexandre Lagoya. Presti commented that she did ‘not claim to be a composer, but simply a guitarist writing for her instrument’. Be that as it may, the pieces were created by one of the most brilliant virtuoso guitarists of the twentieth century and as such are both technically and interpretatively challenging for any performer but easy listening for the audience.
Certainly Presti’s compositions have a style of their own. It is fascinating to ponder the influences from the characteristic Presti-Lagoya repertoire which flow effortlessly and seamlessly into her pieces. Such elements include shades of Pierre Petit’s Tarantella and Toccata, the rich cello-like quality of Albinoni and Marcello, and echoes of Scarlatti, Soler, Albéniz, Granados, Falla and Rodrigo, among others. Presti’s synthesis of diverse influences (whatever they are or wherever they come from), is distinctive and unique. Foremost in her compositions is a vibrant intensity, a blending of sound which remains constant yet could only be achieved by a guitarist of total mastery. Her music remained always within the bounds of traditional tonality, and these offerings could be viewed as a worthy tribute to the spirit of Segovian post-romanticism which found its ultimate fulfilment in the works of Torroba, Turina, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
From now on, thanks to the initiative of Chassain and Olsen, many guitarists, whether professional duos or enthusiastic amateurs, will be attracted to these works. This release, something never before available, represents an important milestone in guitar recording and a welcome contribution to our enjoyment of an exceptionally beautiful part of the repertoire.
Graham Wade, Classical Guitar Magazine April 2010
From Japanese "Gendai", January 2010
We have earlier printed a translation of Ida Presti´s biography in this magazine, and thus once again recognizing her excellency. Her main activities were duet performances with Lagoya, but she also composed a few pieces of music and left us several recordings from the age of LP records. This album contains Presti's music for duo, recorded by Olivier Chaissain (France) and Stein Erik Olsen (Norway). The duo is devoted to the use of special guitars, and in their recording they use Bouchet no. 63 and 66; instruments also used by Presti and Lagoya. There are several small pieces containing musical innovations reflecting the modernity of the time (Chassain published most of these pieces as part of the Presti Collection (Bérber, 2009)). Both Chassain and Olsen perform Presti´s pieces using their own style, still being conscious of the Presti/Lagoya duo. They have a good sense of instrumental timing and balance, have chosen slightly slow tempos, and their performance shows what a first class composer Presti was.
AUTHENTICITY, VIRTUOSITY AND THE MUSIC OF A GUITARIST-COMPOSER OF GENIUS, Gramophone February 2010
Authenticity, vituosity and the music of a guitarist-composer of genius.
Presti and Lagoya, still considered by many to be the greates classical guitar duo in the history of the instrument, also enriched the repertoire beyond measure with their masterly arrangements for two guitars of music by Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Haydn, Granados, Debussy and Falla, to name but a few. Perhaps, less known to the general listening public is that Ida Presti, who met Alexandre Lagoya in 1951 and partnered him in both music and life untill untimely death in 1967, was an improviser and composer of genius. The proof is in the 12 works for guitar duet recorded here, many for the first time.
Olivier Chassain, himself a composer, and Stein-Erik Olsen are both former students of Lagoya's, in addition they play on the Robert Bouchet guitars once owned by their illustrious predecessors. So there's a certain authenticity here, which is only enhanced by the players'own considerable virtuosity and musicianship.
But he music's the thing: here are wondeful, original evocations of Spain (Espagne and Danse gitane – which latter no doubt also recalls the many evenings presti spent jamming with Django Reinhardt) and Hungary (La Hongroise), Expression of love (Sérénade, the first work Presti dedicated to Lagoya, and Berceuse à ma mére, written just a month after the death of Presti's mother) or even a simple deligth in one's own dexterity ( Etude No 1). Appropriately, this excellent release ends with the multifacetated Etude fantasque of 1966, which apparently, according to those who were closest to Presti, the best musical portrait of her.
William Yeoman
Splendid tribute to guitar legend Ida Presti, Bergens Tidende (Bergen, Norway) - September 2009
Presti was a virtuoso guitarist with a thoroughly personal playing style, and she wrote technically demanding works for herself and her husband. Chassain and Olsen do not attempt to duplicate the Presti-Lagoya interpretations. Instead, they lay out the works with musicality and enthusiasm for a contemporary audience, and perform them with a technical facility that is prerequisite for bringing virtuosic music to life. At the same time they allow the music to fly, imbuing it with that element of freewheeling improvisation that was Presti's trademark
The critics' favourite
"Les Compositions de Ida Presti" came in fifth in Aftenposten's annual poll for the ten best international recordings. The Norwegian guitarist Stein-Erik Olsen and the French Oliver Chassain have recorded the works of Ida Presti. -This new presentation of her works has again brought her close to us.
Fiery duo
The performances are virtuosic, sensual and dynamic. Consistent to the last detail.
Dagsavisen (Oslo, Norway) -2009
NRK (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) - “På sporet” 2009
Very beautifully played by Olivier Chassain and Stein-Erik Olsen, clear and pure with a fine, warm recorded sound from Simax.[…]It is hard to imagine that it could have been done better.
Interview with Stein-Erik Olsen
"Olivier Chassain and myself entered the Conservatoire in Paris in 1977 and immediately bacame good friends. In 2003 I invited him to play and teach in Bergen and the year after he invited me to play and teach in France. We did some concerts in the south of France and we noticed very quickly that we had very similar attitudes towards music…"