66. Piccolo valzer

For a long time Balestrieri 1951 was the only source for commentary concerning the existence of this piece, when he wrote: “In occasione del varo a Sestri Ponente, con l’intervento dell’ammiraglio Bettolo, di una corazzata, sorse a Genova un comitato costituito da tre ufficiali dell’esercito — lo scrittore Egisto Roggero, il tenente dei bersaglieri [Temistocle] Bousquet e il capitano Emanuele Vacca ... per la pubblicazione di un ‘Numero Unico’. Si invitarono a collaborare noti scrittori: [Antonio] Fogazzaro, la Neera, Augusto Vecchi ..., Paolo Mantegazza, A.G. Barrili ed altri. Il ‘Numero Unico’ volle avere anche il lusso di pagine musicali: ed ecco Alberto Franchetti, che manda una Marcia trionfale, Luigi Mancinelli una romanza, e Giacomo Puccini un inedito Movimento di valzer.”Note: *“On the occasion of the launch of a battleship at Sestri Ponente, Admiral Bettolo being present, a committee was formed at Genoa, consisting of three military officers — the writer Egisto Roggero, lieutenant of the bersaglieri [Temistocle] Bousquet, and captain Emanuele Vacca ... for the publication of a ‘special edition’. Well-known writers were invited to collaborate: [Antonio] Fogazzaro, Neera, Augusto Vecchi ..., Paolo Mantegazza, A.G. Barrili, and others. This ‘special edition’ also wanted to have the luxury of musical contributions: so Alberto Franchetti provided a Triumphal March, Luigi Mancinelli a romance, and Giacomo Puccini an inedited Waltz Movement."More recently, Iovino examined the sources and corrected Balestrieri by providing the correct information that the occasion was not a launching (“varo”), but a ceremony awarding an honorary banner (“la consegna della bandiera di combattimento”) to the battleship Re Umberto, in September 1894 at Sestri Ponente, a western port suburb of Genoa.
66.E.1 is dated at the end “Torre del Lago 9 Settembre 1894“, which fixes the time of origin of the piece. Around the same time, Puccini used this music as the basis for Musetta’s Waltz, “Quando me'n vo” in Act 2 of La Bohème (see NOTES to 67).