Crisantemi, (Chrysanthemums), SC 65, is an instrumental prelude for string quartet written by Giacomo Puccini in 1890 as a tribute to the late Amadeo I of Spain who was a son of the Italian King, Vittorio Emanuele II.
The opera was not a success (Puccini repeatedly revised it until the last performance in Buenos Aires, in 1905, before declaring the work irredeemable).
A few months after the failed debut of Edgar, Puccini started writing his masterpiece Manon Lescaut.
Deeply moved by Amadeo I of Spain's death, Puccini wrote this work in a sudden burst of inspiration, just in a night.
The central section reaches a poignant climax as the violin soars over a gentle viola pattern, while the cello provides a steady, melancholic bass line.