Puccini, Giacomo

Giacomo Puccini – Tre Fughe per Archi

(b. December 22, 1858, Lucca, Italy – d. November 29, 1924, Brussels, Belgium)

Preface
Giacomo Puccini was born into a family of church musicians that stretched back five generations to his great-great-grandfather (also called Giacomo [1712-1781]). This ancestor had been the organist of S. Martino in Lucca. The same post was later held by Michele Puccini (1813-1864), the father of our Giacomo. When he died, city officials gave the position to Fortunato Magi, Giacomo’s uncle, instructing him to hold the post until his nephew was prepared enough and mature enough to assume it. This was not meant to be. Before his education was complete, the young musician had decided to devote his attention and talents to composing for the operatic stage.

These three fugues for string quartet date from around 1883 when the composer was twenty-five years old and completing his studies. His first opera, Le Villi, was performed in 1884 so, it is likely that they were composed around the same time.

It is interesting to view these fugues as representative of the kind of education Puccini received. Recent research has given us insights about this kind of training, a type that was typical of Italian musical education for at least a century and a half …

Read full English and German preface > HERE