Musical Herstory 2.0

Week Four - Guitar

Solo repertoire for the guitar is a very heavy male-dominated field; but men are not the only ones to have picked up that beautiful six-stringed instrument to create music. This week will look at two fantastic guitar virtuosi whose music is finally coming back into the public consciousness.
​Composers we're looking at this week are:

Ida Presti (1924 - 1967)
​Catharina Pratten (1824 - 1895)
L = Living Composer
Class Resources

YouTube Playlist

The album "Velvet Shoes" by Ulrich Wedemeier can also be found on Naxos.
​
The piece "Fairy Sketches - Puck No. 2" can be heard, along with other pieces by Pratten, on the album "Wake the Sigh" by Emma Rush.

Week Four PPT Notes
Catharina Pratten
Madame Sidney Pratten
Memoirs of Madame Giulia Pelzer
"Reminiscences of Madame Sidney Pratten" by Frank Mott Harrison
"Le Donne e La Chitarra"  Accessed CD notes via Drama Musica

In Tune Interview: Emma Rush | Marfa Public Radio
"Wake the Sigh" Emma Rush. CD Recording. Liner Notes.
"Guitar Music by Women Composers." Sheet Music. Biographical Information by Annette Kruisbrink

Ida Presti
Association Presti-Lagoya
The Life of Ida Presti | Blog - Der Leiermann
Presti, Ida (1924 - 1967) | Encyclopedia.com
"Ida Presti as a Solo Performer and Composer of Works for Solo Guitar." Candice Mowbray.

Recital Offered by Guitar Team." | NY Times, January 23, 1961. Accessed via the Saskatoon Public Library, February 2021.
"Music: For Two Guitars." | NY Times, November 8, 1961. Accessed via the Saskatoon Public Library, February 2021.
"Ida Presti, 42, Dead; Concert Guitarist" | NY Times, April 26, 1967. Accessed via the Saskatoon Public Library, Februrary 2021.
"A Tribute to Ida Presti." Cinzia Milani. CD Recording. Liner Notes.
"Velvet Touch" Ulrich Wedemeier. CD Recording. Liner Notes.

Other Resources
Correspondence with Emma Rush​
"From Convent to Concert Hall - A Guide to Women Composers." Sylvia Glickman, Martha Furman Schleifer
​"Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition, 1150 - 1950." Jane Bowers, Judith Tick.
History of the Classical Guitar | Classical-Guitar-World.com
"The Guitar Society of Toronto" Eli Kassner
Background photograph by Dale Harder