Born in Stockholm but currently living in London, Mats Lidström's career successfully combines performing, teaching and composing. After studying with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School in New York he went on to become Principal Cellist with the Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norrköping Orchestra.

As a soloist Mats Lidström has performed with some of the world's leading orchestras, including the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Previn, Maxim Shostakovich, Andrew Litton, Leif Segerstam and Franz-Welser-Möst.

He has recorded for Hyperion, BIS, Caprice and Deutsche Grammophon, and collaboration with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenburg, Benny Kim and Lynn Harrell at the Aspen Music Festival in 1996/7 resulted in two highly acclaimed recordings for EMI.