Mats Lidström talks about his scale book, The Beauty of Scales to Saskia Constantinou
“My favourite is F sharp melodic minor, three octaves” Mats Lidström
Swedish concert cellist Mats Lidström is, without doubt, a man of great depth with many layers and dimensions to him as musician, composer-arranger and professor at the Royal Academy of Music. His interests are diverse, and he’s involved in a variety of projects which include not only performing but the composition, arranging, transcribing and writing books. His latest achievement is finishing his scale book.
It’s not easy to find a time, but in a secluded corner of a rather boisterous coffee shop in London, shielded by a large, white cello case, he tells me where he finds the time and inspiration. “I think I’m very organised and disciplined, so a lot gets done during the working day. Sometimes though, I do wish for more hours, but…” he says laughing, “one can always borrow from the night.”
The Beauty of Scales became a labour of love and took far longer than Mats expected. A long sigh and contemplative look is followed by “Yes….well, it’s been five years. I lost six months of work when I accidentally clicked the wrong thing and my computer re-programmed itself to ‘factory mode.’ I was utterly deflated and unable to work on it for several months. There was another reason too – one far more positive in a way. Through the intense process of thinking about scales and technique, one starts to know oneself better and better and further examine one’s own approach to playing. I made lots and lots of notes and gradually also discovered new answers, new ways of improving things….and you know what..” he asks, almost rhetorically, “I think I have come up with a fingering for thirds in the low register which enables fast playing!”
The Beauty of Scales published under CelloLid.com is distributed by Spartan Press. Typical of his rather nonchalant way, Mats explains why he set up his own publishing company. “It’s a vehicle really – to spread my compositions and transcriptions. I also have a series called If Bach was a Cellist, which toys with the idea that everything Bach wrote was intended for the cello. I’ve also published a set of encores for cello and piano taken from piano concerts and even from the B minor Mass…and a few years ago, in Cyprus, wrote a piece for solo cello called Aphrodite’s Rock. I last played it at the Hellenic Centre in London for the 40-year commemoration of the Turkish invasion – it was a moving moment.”
Mats is a dedicated teacher and Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music. The dedication in his book reads “To my students. And to myself.” Smiling, he answers the question I don’t need to even ask. “I needed the book for teaching and for myself. Most scale books on the market are very dated, incomplete and use fingerings based on fear rather than brilliance and of finding bold fingerings and enjoying a musical adventure. My book also contains many scales which haven’t been addressed before, such as pizzicato, artificial harmonics, scales of unisons, 2nds, 4ths, 5ths, 7ths, 9ths and 10ths.”
While some musicians may look at scales as warm-up material, Mats believes “Scales are a concertant feature which appears in every piece we play, so one should be properly warmed up before playing them, in order to execute the stretched positions and double-stops with a balanced left hand and to play string-crossings with a bow which responds to all type of string contact. The bow arm is also incredibly important when practising scales – commitment with the bow gives the scale direction and pulse and so, shifts our attention away from the perceived difficulty of the left hand. So, a committed bow means that a scale is never musically ‘switched off.’ I’ve also addressed another issue, rarely examined or even taught despite its frequent use – the pizzicato. I have superb students of great artistic calibre – they listen well, ask few questions and work hard making progress apparent. It’s fun for everyone involved.”
Mats also holds the Solo Cello chair in the Oxford Philomusica, an orchestra of soloists as well as many of the greatest players from the London orchestras. “The first violin section is probably the best in the country. It’s a relaxed atmosphere and the visiting soloists are fabulous. One week Vengerov plays Brahms, the next Mutter plays Bruch. I was also pleased to play Bruch’s Kol Nidrei with the orchestra’s founder and artistic director Marios Papadopoulos. We understand each other well.”
With orchestras and arts foundations worldwide constantly collapsing, the arts cannot be said to be flourishing, and yet the number of students doesn’t diminish. Mats has a summer school Expansion, and he too wonders what will happen to all the students. “The situation is grave and jobs keep disappearing. Who will find ‘proper’ jobs, will they end up playing at weddings or be swallowed up by that adventure called ‘crossover’?” My question becomes rhetorical as he doesn’t seem to have answers. I question whether ‘honesty is the best policy’ – should one be totally honest with students? Mats ponders over the question a while – “it’s tricky you know” he says in a suddenly more pronounced Swedish accent, “because we’re dealing with people. People change. They can suddenly blossom, improve and take off, so one needs to be really careful before removing a person’s dream or plan for their life.”
What does Mats Lidstrom do to relax and unwind from hectic days? “Work can be very relaxing, the work which makes you feel you’re moving forward. Alternatively, after finishing a writing job which took 13 hours, I watched one of the Star Wars episodes…that was very relaxing.”
In conversation with Mats, it’s easy to understand why he is held in such high regard by all those who work with him. From Vladimir Ashkenazy, with whom he recently just finished recording, to Lynn Harrell, compliments are always forthcoming – and as André Previn said “Mats Lidström is more than an excellent cellist, he’s a wonderful musician. His immaculate technique and wonderful instincts make him a pleasure to hear and work with.”
