Giacomo Puccini Arr: Mats Lidström

Mats Lidström writes: I remember, in my early teens, hearing on the news that Stravinsky had died. I remember when they announced the death of Picasso. The range of the news presented on TV must have been different in those days, because I also remember hearing that Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), towards the end of his life, had begun writing a cello sonata! Eventually, I expected to learn more about it. Maybe some sketches would appear in a musical journal. A recording perhaps. I am still waiting - so, was it all just a dream? A cello sonata by Giacomo Puccini strikes me as thoroughly logical. It is the perfect instrument for him. As the principal cellist of the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, I become intimate with his music. Sitting in the orchestra pit on my red velvet chair, the surrounding darkness challenged only by the small beacons on the music stands, a lack of excitement and heat could, at times, become acute. But with the operas by Puccini, never. His music is tangible as soil, nothing is superfluous or expendable. It takes hold of you from the very first phrase. I remember how only time and space would release me from the powerful grip of that last chord of Madame Butterly. While we wait for the cello sonata, my wish is to make the music of Giacomo Puccini available to cellists for the recital halls. I have deliberately chosen to focus on some of his instrumental pieces. 1.