As a child, she was a prodigy. Thanks to her father who was an excellent musician she discovered guitar when she was only six. By the power of divine intuition she mastered the virtue of playing and achieved respectable solo career at a very early age. And while the great Andres Segovia had been revealing  guitar secrets to the musical world, fighting for its status and equality with other classical instruments, Ida Presti took advantage of her virtuosity and peculiar instrumental technique that opened the way to the so-called French guitar school.

Her career took a different direction after meeting Alexandre Lagoya and their musical and life unification. After their performing together over the next decade, the new medium has been affirmed at the world music scene – guitar duo. Their rich concert performance ended in 1967 with sudden and premature death of Ida. The musical world lost the artist of wide horizons, impressive life energy, unique talent and amazing charisma.

Many great composers, such as Poulenc, Torroba and Duarte devoted their works to her. Today, after more than 50 years, she remains a great inspiration to the upcoming young guitarists and is rightly called the greatest Dame of Guitar. 

We would like to thank the family of Ida Presti, her son Sylvan and granddaughter Isabelle, who have shown us great honor and trust by supporting this competion to be named after her.