An original cabinet photograph of the opera composer inscribed to the Italian pianist-composer Aldo Mantia, who was only twenty at the time.

This portrait was taken during the year Mascagni wrote his symphonic poem Visione Lirica and in the year of a major dispute he had with the impresario Walter Mocchi. The New York Times reported on March 16: MASCAGNI INSISTS ON DUEL…Composer Refuses Reconciliation with Mocchi, the Impresario….with whom he came to blows at a music congress in the Lyric Theatre…Mascagni accused Mocchi of a lack of patriotism in that he had promoted German music in South America….Mocchi called into question Mascagni's ability as an orchestral director and proposed that the music congress form a jury of honor to deal with the dispute.