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Biography / Chronology

From musician to man of peace

Childhood in El Vendrell Study years and first concerts International career Residence in the United States Return to Barcelona. Orchestra Pau Casals Spanish Civil War and exile Puerto Rico and the Casals Festivals The struggle for peace Death and return to Catalonia

1876

Born in El Vendrell

He was born on 29th December 1876 in El Vendrell. His father, Carles Casals Riba was a musician and organist from El Vendrell. His mother, Pilar Defilló Amiguet, born in Puerto Rico, imparted the principles of justice and democracy to him.

Pablo Casals at the age of five. Pau Casals Collection.

1882

First musical performance

On 27th April, he gave his first musical performance as second soprano in the El Vendrell choir. His father starts teaching him music and piano. He begins his primary school studies at the Escola Montserrat in El Vendrell.

1883

First composition

He collaborates with his father on a score for a performance of the Shepherds’ play, The Little Shepherds in Bethlehem. He starts to study violin.

1885

La carabasseta

His father and “Peret”, the barber, build him the little courgette, considered to be his first cello. Plays the organ in El Vendrell for the first time.

1888

Takes up the cello for the first time and begins to study in Barcelona

A chamber music trio, with José García on cello, gives a concert at the Catholic Center in El Vendrell. It is the first time Pablo Casals sees and hears a cello, and he decides that this is the instrument he wants to play. At the end of the summer he travels to Barcelona with his mother and begins his five-year studies at the Municipal School of Music with Josep Rodoreda as composition teacher and José Garcia as cello teacher. His father buys him a ¾-size cello.

1889

First musical performances

He begins to play at the Cafè Tost in Barcelona seven days a week, three hours a night for four pesetas. During the summer in Sant Salvador, he gives his first concert in Tarragona.

Pablo Casals at the age of eleven. Pau Casals Collection.

1890

Discovery of the Cello Suites by J.S. Bach in Barcelona.

He attends a concert in Barcelona conducted by Richard Strauss. He discovers the six Cello Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach (Ed. Grützmacher) in Barcelona. His father buys him a large cello.

Score of the six Cello Suites by J.S. Bach, Ed. Grützmacher. Pau Casals Collection.

1891

Isaac Albéniz and friendship with Enric Granados

On 23rd February he takes part in a benefit concert for the comic actress Concepció Palà at the Teatro Novedades in Barcelona. Isaac Albéniz writes a letter of recommendation for Pablo Casals, to Count Morphy, patron and secretary to the Queen Regent of Spain, María Cristina. He begins to work at La Pajarera, a café located in the Plaça de Catalunya, with performances every night as a trio with Ibarguren and Armengol. The group grows to six members and becomes part of the so-called Sextet de la Pajarera. During this year he meets the composer Enric Granados, with whom he begins a long friendship.

1893

He receives a scholarship from Queen María Cristina and begins his studies in Madrid

In the spring he graduates with honors from the Barcelona Municipal School of Music. He travels to Madrid and Queen María Cristina grants him a scholarship of 250 pesetas a month. He begins his second stage of musical training in Madrid at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación with Jesús de Monasterio as professor of chamber music. During these years he establishes a personal relationship with Queen María Cristina, who becomes his protector.

1894

First tours of Spain

In November he made his debut at the Café Romero in Madrid, forming part of a quartet with the violinist Julio Francés, the viola player Rafael Gálvez, Peralta on second violin and José Güervós as pianist. In late 1894 and early 1895, he began a tour of several provinces of Spain with tenor Damian Roura, pianist Saturnino Fresno and violinist Julio Francés.

1895

Brussels and loss of the scholarship

On 14th February he is appointed Knight of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic. He travels to Brussels with a letter of recommendation from François Gavaërt, director of the Conservatory of Music there. After the entrance examinations with Edouard Jacobs, Pablo Casals declines admission to the conservatory. Queen María Cristina withdraws his pension. He decides to go to Paris, where he spends some difficult times and professional uncertainty. At the end of 1895 he returns to Barcelona.

Portrait of Pablo Casals. Photo: M. Büttinghausen, Amsterdam, c. 1895. Pau Casals Collection.

1896

First pupils and concerts in Barcelona

Pablo Casals moves into no. 6, Plaça de Catalunya. He begins to give private cello lessons and his first pupil is Francesca Vidal. In May he becomes a teacher at the Barcelona Municipal School of Music and in November he is appointed cello teacher at the Conservatori del Liceu. He begins to give concerts in small clubs around Barcelona, such as the Ateneu Barcelonès and the Ateneu Gracienc. In Barcelona he meets Isaac Albéniz, Agustín Rubio, Enrique Fernández Arbós, Enric Granados and Saint-Saëns.

Pablo Casals with Benvingut Socias, Enric Granados and Bonaventura Dini, among others, Barcelona, c. 1896. Pau Casals Collection.

1897

Musical collaborations with Enric Granados

Formation of the Quartet Crickboom with Pablo Casals on cello, Mathieu Crickboom and Josep Rocabruna on violin and Rafael Gálvez on viola. Pablo Casals begins a tour of Spain with Enric Granados and Mathieu Crickboom. Queen María Cristina gives him a new cello, a Guarnerius.

The Quartet Crickboom. Mathieu Crickboom and Josep Rocabruna, violins; Rafael Gálvez, viola and Pablo Casals, cello, c. 1896. Pau Casals Collection.

1898

The Netherlands and the Espinho Sextet in Portugal

In July he plays in the Netherlands for Queen Wilhelmina. At the end of the year he forms part of the Espinho Sextet in Portugal and plays for King Carlos I and Queen Amélia.

1899

Concert for Queen Victoria of England and international debut in Paris

Pablo Casals travels to Paris and takes up residence in the house of the American singer Emma Nevada. On 20th May he makes his debut in Crystal Palace, London, with Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D minor, and on 20th August he performs in a private concert in front of Queen Victoria of England on the Isle of Wight. He returns to Paris and at the end of the year makes his international debut under the great French conductor Charles Lamoureux at the Théâtre de la République in Paris.

Pablo Casals at the time of his debut in Paris, 1899. Pau Casals Collection.

1900

Residence in Paris and musical collaborations

He takes up residence in Paris and begins his great career as an international soloist. Begins musical collaboration with the pianist Harold Bauer. He gives concerts in San Sebastián and at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid, among others.

Pablo Casals with the pianist Harold Bauer, c. 1900. Pau Casals Collection.

1901

First trip to the United States

In November, he makes his first trip to the United States for a tour with the singer Emma Nevada, the pianist Leon Moreau and the flutist Daniel Marcasi, until June 1902.

In San Francisco, he suffers an accident to his left hand while climbing Mount Tamalpais, forcing him to abandon the tour. During these months he moved into Michael Stein’,s house and began a long friendship with his children, Gertrude and Leo Stein.

Queen María Christina presents him with the Grand Knight’s Cross of the Royal Order of Charles III.

1903

Tour of South America with the pianist Harold Bauer and the violinist Moreira de Sá

On 3rd May he begins a tour of South America with Harold Bauer and Moreira de Sá.

Pablo Casals with the violinist Moreira de Sá and the pianist Harold Bauer in Rio de Janeiro, 1903. Pau Casals Collection.

1904

Debut at Carnegie Hall and concert at the White House

He begins his second trip to the United States, this time as a soloist. On 12th January he gives his first performance at the New Lyceum Theatre in New York, playing Haydn’s Concerto in D minor with the American Symphony Orchestra. On 15th January he is invited to play at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. On 9th March he makes his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, performing Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote. In May he begins his second tour of South America with the pianist Harold Bauer.

1905

First trip to Russia and the beginning of his relationship with Guilhermina Suggia

In Paris he moves into number 20, Molitor villa. Begins a relationship with the Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia. One of the most active years of his life begins. He plays in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, London, St. Petersburg, among others.

Pablo Casals and the cellist Guilhermina Suggia at the house of Sant Salvador, El Vendrell. Pau Casals Collection.

In November he makes his first trip to Russia, to perform at a concert in the Hall of the Nobility in St. Petersburg, initiating his first contacts with Moscow’s musical circles: the pianists Alexander Siloti, the composers Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui, Glazunov and Aleksandr Skriabin.

1906

Career as a soloist is consolidated and the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals is formed

He begins an intensive series of concerts and musical performances all over Europe.

On 18th December 1906, together with the pianist Alfred Cortot and the violinist Jacques Thibaud, he creates the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals. In December, the trio makes its debut in a concert in Lille (France), becoming one of the most important musical ensembles of the time.

Pablo Casals, Jacques Thibaud and Alfred Cortot. Pau Casals Collection.

1909

Links with the Classical Concert Society of London and the Northlands School

On 20th October he is invited by Edward Speyer to play at the Bechstein Hall for the Classical Concert Society of London.

He begins his friendship with the pianist and composer Donald Francis Tovey and members of the Northlands School: Sophie Weisse, Julius Röntgen, Robert Trevelyan, Jelly d’Arányi, Adila Fachiri, etc.

Donald Francis Tovey, Julius Röntgen, Elisabeth Trevelyan, Pablo Casals and Adilia Fachiri. Classical Concert Society, London, c. 1912. Pau Casals Collection.

1910

Debut in Vienna and construction of the house of Sant Salvador, El Vendrell

In November he makes his debut in Vienna, performing Emanuel Móor’s Concerto in C-sharp minor in the Great Hall of the Musikverein with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Franz Schalk.

He builds a summer house in front of Sant Salvador beach, in El Vendrell, where he spends his summers with his mother, brothers and family.

1911

Concerts in Budapest and England

He continues his tireless musical performances. In May he plays in Budapest with Eugène Ysaÿe and Raoul Pugno, in March he plays at the Queen’s Hall in London, in April he performs as a soloist in Budapest and later in London performing the two Chelsea concerts by Donald Francis Tovey.

1912

Concerts with Eugène Ysaÿe and George Enescu

In January, with Eugène Ysaÿe, performs Brahms’ Double Concerto in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and on 20th February in the Great Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. In February, he plays Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Donald Francis Tovey and George Enescu in Budapest. On 21st March he receives the Gold Medal of the Philharmonic Society of London.

Programme for a concert at the Music Hall in Chester, 1912. Pau Casals Collection.

1913

He meets Susan Metcalfe and leaves his usual residence in Paris

He meets the American singer Susan Metcalfe concert in Berlin. He leaves Molitor villa in Paris. On 14th December he gives his last concert in St. Petersburg.

1914

Marries Susan Metcalfe and makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York

In March sails for New York. On 4th April he marries Susan Metcalfe in New Rochelle (NY) and they begin a tour of the United States together. On 13th December he performs his first concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, playing Saint-Saëns’ Concerto and Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, with the Opera Orchestra and conductor Richard Hageman. On 28th February he performs a concert with Harold Bauer at the Symphony Hall in Boston and later performs Lalo’s Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Karl Muck.

Pablo Casals with the American soprano Susan Metcalfe in New York, c. 1915. Bain Collection. Library of Congress.

1915

First recordings with the Columbia Graphophone Company

On 15th January he makes the first recording of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, Händel’s Ombra mai fu (Xerxes), Rubinstein’s Melody in F and the second movement (Adagio) of Tartini’s Cello concerto in D minor. After a few days he makes the second recording of Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, records Spanish Dance, no. 2 by Popper, Le cygne by Saint-Saëns and a Romanza by Campagnoli.

Between 1915 and 1924 Pablo Casals records more than 50 different short works for Columbia Graphophone Records.

1916

First performance of the opera Goyescas and death of Enric Granados

On 28th January 1916, Enric Granados premieres his opera Goyescas at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Pablo Casals helps his friend with the rehearsals and preparations for the work.

On 24th March, Enric Granados and his wife Amparo die when the ship Sussex, on which they were travelling back to Europe, is torpedoed by a German U-boat. He takes part in the benefit concert at the Metropolitan Opera House organised for the children of his friend Enric Granados, together with Paderewski and Fritz Kreisler.

1917-1918

Refuses to play in Russia

He continues his concerts in Europe and the United States and his tours with Harold Bauer. In October, after the Russian Revolution, Pablo Casals decides not to return to play in Russia in rejection of its policies and in support of the situation experienced by his friends such as Alexander Siloti.

The violinist Fritz Kreisler, the pianist Harold Bauer, Pablo Casals and the conductor Walter J. Damrosch, New York, 1917. Bain Collection. LOC.

1919

Tour of Mexico and creation of the Orchestra Pau Casals

On 10th January he performs in Mexico City with the City Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Josep Rocabruna, beginning a three-week tour of the country. On 14th April he performs at the Bohemian Club in New York with Rachmaninov. He returns to Barcelona in spring. In June he begins working on creating the Orchestra Pau Casals.

1920

Founding of the École Normale de Musique de Paris and inaugural concert of the Orchestra Pau Casals

During January and February he tours the United States. Together with Alfred Cortot and Jacques Thibaud, he founds the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he conducts performance courses every summer. The Orchestra Pau Casals performs its first concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana on 13th October.

Pablo Casals conducting the Orchestra Pau Casals at the Palau de la Música Catalana, 1934. AFB.

1921

He continues his career as a soloist

Between 1921 and 1930 he continues to give concerts every year in England with the Manchester Hallé Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the Symphony Orchestra of London and the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and until 1928 he makes an annual tour of the United States, performing as soloist with Harold Bauer, Thibaud, and others.

1922

Debuts as a conductor at Carnegie Hall, New York

On 7th April he makes his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, conducting Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and the “Pastoral” Symphony, Brahms’ First Symphony, 1 and Tristan and Isolde’s Prelude and Love Death.

1926

Launch of the Workers’ Concert Association

In May he creates the Associació Obrera de Concerts to bring music closer to the working class.

Concert by the Associació Obrera de Concerts in homage to Pablo Casals, Palau de la Música Catalana, 1930. Pau Casals Collection.

1927

Beethoven’s centenary death and El Vendrell’s honorary citizen

In March he is invited to play and conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on the occasion of Beethoven’s centenary death. With the Pau Casals Orchestra he organises the Beethoven Festival with Eugène Ysaÿe as conductor. In the summer he continues his tours with the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals.

In July he receives a large-scale tribute in El Vendrell from the members of his orchestra and from his native town, which names him honorary citizen.

Concert by the Pau Casals Orchestra with Eugène Ysaÿe as soloist and Pablo Casals as conductor, 1927. Pau Casals Collection.

1928

Last concert as soloist in the United States

On 26th February he gives his last concert as soloist in the United States, at New York’s Town Hall, with Nicolai Mednikoff at the piano. Pablo Casals’ relationship with Susan Metcalfe grows distant, leading to a definitive separation.

Pablo Casals with the pianist Nikolai Mednikoff, New York, 1928. Pau Casals Collection.

1929

Beginning of the European tour

Pablo Casals begins a new European touring programme, playing in Prague, Bucharest, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, and in December in Budapest, accompanied by Otto Schulhof, for the first time since 1914.

1931

Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed

On 11th March, his mother, Pilar Defilló, dies in Sant Salvador. On 14th April the Second Republic is proclaimed, with which Pablo Casals participates and becomes personally involved as a member of the Junta de Música de Catalunya (Music Board of Catalonia).

1933

Refusal to play in Nazi Germany and the end of the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals

The Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals disbands, ending a union that had lasted twenty-seven years. He takes part in the Vienna Brahms Festival with Huberman, Schnabel and Hindemith.

He turns down Wilhelm Furtwängler’s invitation to play with the Berlin Philharmonic for the 1934 season because of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, and states his position that he will not play in Germany again as long as “his musical life is not free”.

Pablo Casals with Huberman, Schnabel and Hindemith, Vienna Festival, 1933. Pau Casals Collection.

1934

Honoris Causa doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and adoptive son of Barcelona

Pablo Casals is awarded, together with Albert Schweitzer, an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. The city of Barcelona pays tribute to Pablo Casals, making him an adoptive son, awarding him the Medal of the City and inaugurating the Avinguda de Pau Casals.

Pablo Casals with Albert Schweitzer and Donald Francis Tovey at his appointment as Honoris Causa doctor by the University of Edinburgh, 1934. Pau Casals Collection.

1935

Adoptive son and Gold Medal of Madrid

In April, Donald Francis Tovey conducts the second performance of his Cello Concerto in Barcelona. In December he is named adoptive son of Madrid and awarded the Gold Medal of the city.

The Mayor of Madrid presenting Pablo Casals with the Gold Medal of the city, 1935. Pau Casals Collection.

1936

Beginning of the Spanish Civil War and recordings of the Bach Cello Suites

On 18th July, during a rehearsal with the Pablo Casals Orchestra at the Palau de la Música Catalana, Pablo Casals receives the news of the military uprising. The Pablo Casals Orchestra is dissolved. Pablo Casals continues to tour Europe and South America, giving benefit concerts for food, clothing and medicines.

Between 1936 and 1939 Pablo Casals records Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Cello Suites in London and Paris.

Pablo Casals conducting the Pablo Casals Orchestra at the Palau de la Música Catalana, 1934. Pau Casals Collection.

1937

Concerts in Europe and tour of South America

Between April and May he gives several concerts in Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Zurich and Paris. A few days later he begins a two-month tour of South America, where he had not returned since 1904. On 17th November, he records Donald Francis Tovey’s Cello Concerto in C major with the BBC Orchestra, conducted by Adrian Boult.

Appointed Honorary President of the Musicians Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.

1938

Last concert in Barcelona and tour of North Africa

In February he begins a tour of North Africa, passing through Rabat, Casablanca, Oran, Algiers and Tunis. On 19th October he gives his last concert in Catalonia at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona for the benefit of the Children’s Aid Society. At the end of October he plays in Belgium, in November he gives several concerts in Prague, Zagreb, Bucharest, Istanbul and Athens, and in December he plays in Cairo and Alexandria.

Pablo Casals at the benefit concert for the child victims of the Civil War, Gran Teatre del Liceu, 1938. Centelles Archive.

1939

Exile in Prades

In January he goes into exile. After a short stay in Paris at Maurice Eisenberg’s house, he goes to Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) where he moves into the Grand Hotel. He begins his campaign to help Spanish refugees.

On 28th March, Casals gives a benefit concert for the children victims of the Spanish Civil War at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

On 12th November he plays the Lalo and Saint-Saëns concertos with the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his debut in the city.


Benefit concert programme for child victims of war at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Pau Casals Collection.

1940

Aid to refugees and victims of World War II

On 13th June the Germans enter Paris. Pablo Casals decides to leave France from Bordeaux aboard the Champlain for America. Just as he was about to embark, the Champlain is bombed by the Germans. He returns to Prades, where he settles with Francesca Capdevila and Joan Alavedra’s family at the Vil·la Colette.

He continues his aid to Spanish refugees and organises benefit concerts for the Red Cross and the French Legion in unoccupied France to help the victims of World War II (Montauban, Toulouse, Montpellier, Grenoble, Béziers, Bordeaux).

Pablo Casals, Francesca Capdevila, the cellist Leopold Teraspulsky and Enriqueta Casals in Prades. Pau Casals Collection.

1945

Tour of England and musical silence

On 27th June, after the end of the Second World War, he gives a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. At the end of the concert, Pablo Casals transmits a message to Catalonia through the BBC studios.

He decides not to play again in the Allied countries in protest at their immobility in the face of Franco’s regime.

He rejects the honorary doctorates awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

1946-1949

First pupils in Prades

He continues his campaign to help refugees. In May he visits the grave of the poet Frederic Mistral in Maillane.

On 18th July he publishes a letter to the London News Chronicle on the tenth anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, “Why Franco must go”.

On 7th November he is appointed Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour.

At the end of 1946 Pablo Casals accepts his first cello pupil in exile: Bernard Greenhouse. He continues to work on his compositions and teaches new pupils from all over the world, such as Zara Nelsova and Madeline Foley.

Pablo Casals giving lessons to the American cellist Madeline Foley, c. 1949. Pau Casals Collection.

1950

Beginning of the Bach Festival

On 2nd June, Alexander Schneider initiates the first Prada Festival, the Bach Festival, in commemoration of the bicentenary of the composer’s death.

Pablo Casals returns to the stage. The Festival Orchestra is created, made up of musicians from all over the world.

Casals with violinist Alexander Schneider during a rehearsal at the Prada Bach Festival, 1950. Pau Casals Collection.

1951

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven Festival in Perpignan

In July the second Prada Festival, the Bach, Mozart, Beethoven Festival, is held at the Palace of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan, featuring the pianist Myra Hess. He meets Marta Montañez, who attends the Festival with her uncle Rafael Montañez. In September he conducts two of his compositions in Zurich: La Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels and Els tres reis, part of his composition of El Pessebre. On 30th December he is appointed Master of the Order of the Liberation of Spain by the Spanish Republican Government in exile.

1952

Visit and masterclasses in Zermatt

In the summer the third Prada Festival is held at the Abbey of Sant Miquel de Cuixà.

Pau Casals participa per primera vegada en l’Acadèmia Musical d’Estiu de Zermatt. From that year until 1966, he gives masterclasses in interpretation every year, together with other musicians such as the violinist Sándor Végh, Carl Engel, Willy Hauslein and Emil Hauser.

Pablo Casals giving a masterclass at the Zermatt Summer Music Academy, 1952. Pau Casals Collection.

1955

First visit to Puerto Rico

Francesca Capdevila dies on 18th January. Pablo Casals travels to Catalonia for the first time since his exile, to bury his wife in the cemetery of El Vendrell. After a brief visit to the house of Sant Salvador, he returns to Prades.

On 11th December he makes his first trip to Puerto Rico, accompanied by Marta Montañez. On 17th December he takes part in a tribute to the house where his mother, Pilar Defilló, was born, in Mayagüez.

Pablo Casals with the governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Marín, 1955. Pau Casals Collection.

1956

Launching of the Puerto Rico Casals Festival and tribute at the Sorbonne in Paris

The Festivals Casals Inc. are created thanks to the initiative of Abe Fortas and governor Luis Muñoz Marín, with Pablo Casals as musical director and Alexander Schneider as musical assistant. In the summer he takes part in the Prada Festival and the Zermatt Summer School.

On 10th October, he is honoured at the Sorbonne in Paris on the occasion of his 80th birthday and the 57th anniversary of his debut in Paris. Pablo Casals conducts a group of 102 cellists in a performance of his Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels.

At the end of November he returns to Puerto Rico, accompanied by Marta Montañez, his brother Enric and his wife, and settles in the Santurce neighbourhood in San Juan de Puerto Rico, in a house on Bucaré Street.

1957

First Casals Festival and marriage to Marta Montañez

On 16th April he suffers a heart attack during a rehearsal with the Festival Orchestra at the Theatre of the University of Puerto Rico. The management of the Casals Festival decides to continue the concerts in homage to Pablo Casals, under the direction of Alexander Schneider. On 3rd August, Pablo Casals and Marta Montañez marry in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Pablo Casals and his wife Marta after their wedding, on their way to
Paris, 1957. Pau Casals Collection.

First Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Paris

He travels with his wife Marta to Paris, and a few days later they move into a flat next to the Grand Hôtel in Molitg‑les‑Bains, to attend the Prades Festivals. At the end of August they attend the Zermatt Summer Academy.

In October the First Pablo Casals International Cello Competition is held in Paris, chaired by Pablo Casals and with the participation of cellists Barbirolli, Maurice Eisenberg, Gaspar Cassadó, Fournier, and Mstislav Rostropovich, among others, as jurors.

1958

Concert at the United Nations and nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize

In September, together with violinist Sándor Végh and pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski, he takes part in a tribute concert at Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn.

On 24th October, he is invited by UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to give a concert at the General Assembly to commemorate United Nations Day. The concert, together with the “message of peace” that Pablo Casals had recorded a few days earlier in Geneva, was broadcast by radio to more than 40 countries. Pablo Casals is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pablo Casals greeting Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1958. Pau Casals Collection.

1960

Masterclasses in Berkeley, Marlboro and premiere of El Pessebre in Acapulco

In spring arrives in California to conduct a series of masterclasses at the Music Department of the University of Berkeley. In July, he was invited by his friend and pianist Rudolf Serkin to conduct a series of masterclasses at the Marlboro Summer Music School in southern Vermont (USA), which became an annual event from 1962 until 1973.

On 17th December 1960, the oratorio El Pessebre is premiered in Acapulco (Fort of San Diego, Mexico).

Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin and Alexander Schneider at the Marlboro Summer Music School, 1961. Pau Casals Collection.

1961

Concert at the White House Visit to Japan and Israel

In April Pablo Casals makes a three-week visit to Japan and gives a concert with his pupil Takeichiro Hirai.

In September he visits Israel for the first time, to take part as a juror in the 3rd Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the 3rd Israel Music Festival.

On 13th November Pablo Casals is invited by John Fitzgerald Kennedy to give a concert at the White House accompanied by Alexander Schneider and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

Pablo Casals speaking with President J.F. Kennedy during the concert at the White House, Washington, November 1961. Pau Casals Collection.

1962

Beginning of the international tour of the oratorio El Pessebre

On 19th April, with the concert of the oratorio El Pessebre at the Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, he announces his intention to embark on a personal crusade for human dignity, fraternity and peace.

Over the next ten years, Pablo Casals will conduct El Pessebre all over the world.

Conducting El Pessebre in Toulouse, France, 1962. Pau Casals Collection.

1963

John Fitzgerald Kennedy awards him the Medal of Freedom

On 16th June he conducts Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall in New York.

In early October Pablo Casals returns to London after eighteen years to conduct El Pessebre. On October 24th, El Pessebre is performed at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with the Casals Festival Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

The President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, awards him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Pablo Casals conducting the concert of the oratorio El Pessebre, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 24 October 1963. Pau Casals Collection.

1964

On 15th June, Pablo Casals conducts Haydn’s The Creation at Carnegie Hall in New York. On 10th April, he conducts El Pessebre in Budapest, where he is reunited with his friend and composer Zoltán Kodály. Appointed honorary member of the Vienna Academy of Music.

1966

Named honorary citizen of San Juan de Puerto Rico

On 17th June, he is named honorary citizen of San Juan de Puerto Rico. This is the last year that he attends the Prades Festival and the Zermatt Summer School in summer. In September, Pablo Casals conducts El Pessebre in Sant Miquel de Cuixà.

In December, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he receives numerous public tributes, including the one paid to him by the people of El Vendrell in Molitg-les-Bains (France), and the one in Puerto Rico with a reception in the courtyard of the Fortress, attended by the Vice-President of the United States, Hubert Humphrey.

The Alavedra couple, Pablo Casals and Marta Casals at the 90th anniversary party, San Juan de Puerto Rico, 1966. Pau Casals Collection.

1967

Conducts El Pessebre at the Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.

On October 21st, he is invited by the United Nations Association to conduct El Pessebre at the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., to commemorate United Nations Day. After the concert, Pablo Casals has an interview with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House.

He receives the Axacan Memorial Award from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in early November and conducts El Pessebre in San Salvador (El Salvador).

1971

Concert and premiere of the Himne a les Nacions Unides

In May, he is invited by the OAS (Organization of American States) to perform a concert at the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D.C.

Receives the Grand Cross of the French National Order of Merit.

On 24 October, he participates in the United Nations Day concert at the General Assembly in New York. He premieres the Himne a les Nacions Unides, and is presented with the Peace Medal by the Secretary-General, U Thant.

U Thant presenting the United Nations Peace Medal to Pablo Casals, 24 October 1971. Pau Casals Collection.

1972

Creation of the Foundation

On March 30th, he conducts his Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels and the Himne a les Nacions Unides during a concert at Arizona State University.

In June, together with his wife Marta, he establishes the Pau Casals Foundation, based in El Vendrell.

Pablo Casals and his wife Marta in Puerto Rico, 1972. Pau Casals Collection.

1973

Last concert in Israel and death in San Juan, Puerto Rico

On 22nd May, he performs a concert commemorating the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

In June, he attends the Casals Festival, held at Carnegie Hall and Central Park in New York. From 16th July to 26th August 1973, he takes part in the 13th Israel Music Festival, where Pablo Casals gives his last concert.

At the end of September, in Puerto Rico, he suffers an irreversible heart attack. On 22nd October he dies at the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan de Puerto Rico, and a few days later he is buried in the San Juan de Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery.

Pablo Casals and Marta Casals with Golda Meir and Ben-Gurion, 13th Israel Music Festival, 1973. Pau Casals Collection.

1979

Return of his remains to Catalonia

At the beginning of November, in accordance with Pablo Casals’ wish to be buried in his native land on the day that democracy returned to his country, his remains were transferred to Catalonia, where they rest today in the cemetery of El Vendrell.

Burial of Pablo Casals in the Cemetery of El Vendrell, 10th November 1979. Pau Casals Collection.

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