OUT NOW | Guitarist Berta Rojas Releases New CD "Legado"

The triple Latin Grammy-nominated guitarist Berta Rojas recently released a new album with Onmusic recordings. Entitled "Legado" (legacy), the disc focuses on two women who were some of the most celebrated guitarists and composers for the guitar of the twentieth century: Ida Presti and María Luisa Anido.

Ida Presti, who was born near Paris in 1924, was a child prodigy and one of the twentieth century's most prominent guitarists. As well as having a stellar performing career, she was also a noted composer, writing a number of virtuosic works for solo guitar. She married the guitarist Alexandre Lagoya in 1952 and also composed guitar duos for the pair to perform together.

The other protagonist of the disc is the Argentinian guitarist María Luisa Anido, whose works are rich with the colors of South American folk music. Anido traveled extensively as part of her performing career, spending stints of her life in London, across Europe, in Russia, and at home in Buenos Aires.

Alongside six works by these two composers, the disc also contained three works that were inspired by Presti and Anido. These include a musical portrait of Anido by composer Sergío Assad, which was commissioned especially by Rojas for the album, and two other works by John Duarte and Gilbert Biberian.

"I wanted to pay tribute to women pioneers of the classical guitar," said Rojas. "They did have recognition while they were alive, but that essentially evaporated after their deaths."

"They deserve to be part of the conversation when you mention the main figures of classical guitar like Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream," she added. "These women also contributed to the growth of the instrument. They were trailblazers in a time when the guitar was a male dominated field."

The album is available now on all streaming services. You can hear Rojas performing John Duarte's Idylle pour Ida below.