Description

GASPAR CASSADÓ I MOREU (BARCELONA, SPAIN, 30 SEPTEMBER, 1897 – MADRID, SPAIN, 24 DECEMBER, 1966)

 

 

 

 

He began learning the cello with his organist-composer father and continued at the Barcelona Conservatory until he was nine or ten. With their other son also showing promise on the violin, the Cassadós moved to Paris to find the best musical tuition available. Gaspar was extremely privileged to be one of only three students (Suggia being another) whom Casals taught at that time, as his touring career took priority. Cassadó was especially struck by realising that Casals never performed a piece of music the same way twice. He called Casals his ‘spiritual father’ and their bond remained strong for some years. During his time in Paris he also studied composition with Ravel and Falla, and performed trios with his father Joaquín and brother Agustín, who learnt violin with Thibaud. After World War I Cassadó began touring as a soloist and composing; his works include a cello concerto and a (more enduring) piece for cello and piano, Requiebros, which has been recorded by several cellists and bassists. Although he was modest about his writing he nearly always included one of his own works in each recital programme. During his first US visit in 1928 Mengelberg and the New York Philharmonic performed his Rapsodia Catalana and rated him alongside Albéniz, Turina and Mompou in the programme notes. In the 1920s and 1930s Cassadó was a regular soloist with the Orquesta Pau Casals in Barcelona and it seems that Casals was genuinely keen to promote his former student as both cellist and composer. Sadly the friendship broke down during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, when Casals was forced into exile and ceased most of his performing activities whilst Cassadó continued with his career in Italy and America. Cassadó’s playing hints at its origins in the older style surviving to the early years of the twentieth century, whilst at the same time presaging some of the changes of more recent times. Critics and commentators have noted that he was more conservative than his mentor Casals, but less rigid than some of the German-trained cellists of his time. Olin Downes of the New York Times said ‘…great singers could envy him for his belcanto’. His earlier recordings, including the Dvořák Concerto (1935) and two rather dubious arrangements—Tartini’s Concerto in D (1935) and Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata set by Cassadó himself as a cello concerto (1929)—sound old-fashioned by modern tastes, with reasonably frequent and pronounced portamenti, a degree of tempo volatility and sparing vibrato. The 1956 performance of the Schubert arrangement, selected here, displays Cassadó’s later style: vibrato is somewhat slower, and portamenti largely absent, with the 2nd movement being noticeable much slower. The Dvořák does have a certain heroic quality: whilst the finale has technical weaknesses, the dark hues of the slow movement and the dramatic first movement make for compelling listening. The Tartini arrangement makes no concessions to the early style of composition, but orchestra and soloist bring to it a tonal intensity which is enticing. Cassadó’s own arrangement of the ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata is a curiosity indicative of a musical personality nurtured in a bygone era. He recomposes the work significantly, with entirely new phrases let into the texture to create ritornello-type passages and render the work a ‘concerto’.

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Apres un reve (Faure) rec. 1928, Columbia 03553 A 6530

Arioso (J. S. Bach) rec. 1926, Polydor 66224

Arlequin (Popper) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Polydor 95028 B 28026, B 28027

Butterflies Der Schmetterling (Harty) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1930, Columbia B J-5143 A10110

Chanson villageoise Op. 62 No. 2 (Popper) rec. 1928, Columbia 7017 A 6582

Danzas Españolas No. 5 (Granados) rec. 1927, Columbia L 2046 AX 3131

Evening Song (Schumann, arr. Willeke) rec. 1928, Columbia 03553 A 6528

Gavotte (Mehul) Michael Raucheisen Telefunken A0283

Gavotte Nr. 2. (Popper) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Polydor 95026 B 28023

Grave (Tartini) Version For Cello And Orchestra Telefunken  E1820

Indian Song (Dvorak) Michael Raucheisen Telefunken A 2127 21498

Kol Nidrei del 1 (Bruch) Columbia DW 5010-I WAX 5996

Kol Nidrei del 2 (Bruch) Columbia DW 5010-II WAX 5997

La pendule, la fileuse et le galant Giulietta von Mendelssohn Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Deutsche Grammophon 66228 B 280189 2127

Larghetto (Nardini) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Deutsche Grammophon 66228 B 28018 B 28019

Largo (Händel) unknown pianist rec. 11 November 1927, Columbia C-L2046 CQX-10487

Le cygne (Saint-Saëns) rec. London, 23 February 1928, Columbia D1600

Mélodie Arabe (Glazunov) rec. London, 23 February 1928, Columbia D1600

Melody (Rubinstein) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Polydor 95026 B 28022

Menuetto (Boccherini) rec. 1926, Polydor 66224

Nocturne op. 9 No 2 ( Chopin) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Deutsche Grammophon 95027 be 265 be 1927-10-29

Ode (Tcherepnin) Michael Raucheisen Telefunken A1830

Papillon (Fauré) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Polydor 95028 B 28026, B 28027

Requiebros (Cassadó) Michael Raucheisen Telefunken E1820

Salut d’amour Op. 12 (Elgar) Michael Raucheisen (piano) rec. 24 October 1936, Telefunken E2083

Serenata Española Op. 181 (Albéniz) Michael Raucheisen (piano) rec. 24 October 1936, Telefunken E2127

Serenata Napoletana Op. 24 No. 2 (Sgambati) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1930, Columbia J-5143 A-10111

Sonata in A major (Boccherini) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Deutsche Grammophon 66229 B 28020 B 28021

Tonadilla (Laserna) Michael Raucheisen Telefunken A 1830

Träumerei (Schumann) Giulietta von Mendelssohn-Gordigiani (piano) rec. 1927, Deutsche Grammophon 95027 be 266 be 1927-10-29

 

Beethoven Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, Op. 56

Max Rostal, violin

Karl Hermann Pillney, piano

Rudolf Michl, conductor

RSO Saarbrücken

This recording, alongside its companion piece—the Brahms Double Concerto recorded just one day prior on December 15, 1961—perfectly preserves the short-lived, high-caliber live performance partnership shared by these three European masters.

 

Brahms Cello and piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 38, in E minor

I- Allegro non tropo

II- Allegretto quasi Minuetto

III- Allegro – Piu presto

Alicia de Larrocha (Piano)

Recorded live on December 18, 1956, in Madrid, Spain.

 

Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102

Max Rostal, violin

Orchestra: Radio-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken (RSO Saarbrücken)

Conductor: Rudolf Michl

Recorded live on December 15, 1961, inside the Saarbrücken Funkhaus.

 

Gaspar Cassadó plays Cassadó

Danse du Diable Vert (“Dance of the Green Devil”) — a blistering, highly technical showpiece composed in 1926.

Requiebros (“Flirtations” / “Compliments”) — his most famous melodic and virtuosic masterpiece dedicated to his mentor, Pablo Casals.

Wolfgang Rudolf, piano

Recorded April 26, 1952, at the Altes Funkhaus inside the Frankfurt studio of Hessischer Rundfunk (HR).

 

Gaspar Cassadó, cello/ Chieko Hara, piano

Requiebros — Cassadó’s most famous original masterpiece, full of virtuosic Spanish flair and dedicated to his teacher, Pablo Casals.

Intermezzo — A beautifully lyrical movement excerpted from the opera Goyescas by Enrique Granados, brilliantly arranged for cello and piano by Cassadó himself.

Recorded live in Rome (Roma), Italy, in 1950.

While the duo officially married in 1959 and toured globally as the Duo Cassadó throughout the 1960s, this extraordinary 1950 live recording documents their chemistry nearly a decade earlier. At this point in time, Chieko Hara—already famous as a pioneering international prize-winner at the 1937 Chopin Competition—was forging a steady career in Europe, making this Rome performance a highly prized archival jewel for collectors.

 

Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102.

Soloists: Albert Spalding (Violin) & Gaspar Cassadó (Cello) Orchestra: New York Philharmonic OrchestraConductor: John BarbirolliVenue & Date: Recorded live on March 26, 1939 (frequently documented in collectors’ logs as a late May broadcast release or transcription date) inside Carnegie Hall, New York.

 

4 Canciones españolas (Four Spanish Songs) by the Cuban-Spanish composer Joaquín Nin (originally written for voice and piano, masterfully adapted here for the cello’s vocal range).

Montañesa

Tonada Murciana

Saeta

Granadina — Famous archival anomaly: The very last bars of this final movement are famously cut short on the master tape, abruptly interrupted because the radio station had to switch over to the live scheduled news broadcast.

Artists: Gaspar Cassadó (Cello) & Karl Willi Hammer (Piano)

Venue & Date: Recorded live in 1963 at the Berlin studios of RIAS (Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor / Radio in the American Sector).

 

Cello Concerto (Cellokonzert) written in 3 movements by the Finnish-Swedish composer, music critic, and modernist pioneer Moses Pergament.

(Note: Though frequently logged by collectors under its publication/broadcast year of 1955, the archival recording logs note the piece was completed in 1954).

Soloist: Gaspar Cassadó (Cello) Orchestra: Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester)

Conductor: Herbert Sandberg (The prominent German-born Swedish conductor, composer, and Royal Swedish Opera leader)

Recorded live from a concert broadcast by Sveriges Radio on August 5, 1954.

 

Cello Concerto No. 2 in G minor (1909) by the German-Dutch composer Julius Röntgen.

Soloist: Gaspar Cassadó (Cello)

Orchestra: Omroep Orkest (The Dutch Radio Broadcasting Orchestra)

Conductor: Walter Boer

Date & Context: Broadcast live from a radio tape session in 1959.

Structure & Connection to Casals The concerto is written as one continuous movement split into five distinct, highly descriptive sections:

I. Improvisation – Allegro non troppo

II. Andante con moto

III. Allegretto scherzando

IV. Andante expressivo

V. Allegro non troppo, ma con fuoco

Röntgen actually dedicated this concerto to Pablo Casals, who was Cassadó’s beloved teacher and mentor. Knowing this connection makes Cassadó’s 1959 Dutch broadcast exceptionally meaningful—he was carrying forward a work directly woven into his own musical lineage. Cassadó leans into the rhapsodic, improvisational opening of the concerto with his signature rich vibrato and effortless expressive freedom.

 

Cello Concerto in G major, Op. 42 (Written in 1935 as a richly melodic, continuous single-movement concerto).

Composer: Hans Pfitzner

Soloist: Gaspar Cassadó (Cello)

Orchestra: Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam

Conductor: Willem Mengelberg

Exact Date: Recorded live on December 12, 1940, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

 

Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata (D 821), famously arranged for cello and orchestra by Gaspar Cassadó himself.

I. Allegro moderato

II. Adagio

III. Allegretto

Live Concert Performance (recorded by the Dutch public broadcaster AVRO under archive number HM-0154).

Willem Mengelberg, Conductor

The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Thursday, December 12, 1940.

 

The Menuhin – Kentner – Cassado Trio – Mozart, Schubert – Piano Trio In E, K.542 / Piano Trio In B-flat, Op. 99 (In Two Historic Performances Given At The 1958 Ascona Festival)

Label: Discocorp – RR-316

Format: Vinyl, LP

Country: US

Released: 1983

Genre: Classical

Style: Romantic, Classical

A Mozart – Piano Trio in E, K. 542

B Schubert – Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 99

Cello – Gaspar Cassadó

Piano – Louis Kentner

Violin – Yehudi Menuhin

 

Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104, Berlin

Gaspar Cassadó

Conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt

Berliner Philharmoniker

This legendary recording spans across a multi-part series of Telefunken shellac pressings, including catalog numbers E1893, E1895, E1896, and E18937.

 

Dvořák, The Austrian Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Woss, Gaspar Cassado – Concerto For Violoncello In B Minor, Op.104

Label: Remington – RLP-199-38

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album

Country: US

Released: 1951

Genre: Classical

Style: Classical

Concerto For Violoncello In B Minor, Op.104

Composed By – Dvorak

Conductor – Kurt Woss

Orchestra – The Austrian Symphony Orchestra

Violoncello – Gaspar Cassado

A1 Allegro

B1 Adagio Ma Non Troppo

B2 Allegro Moderato

 

Dvořák Cello Concerto

1st Movement: Allegro

2nd Movement: Adagio Ma Non Troppo

3rd Movement: Finale: Allegro Moderato

Released by:  Allegro (AR-88062)

Year released:  1981 (original release by Vox 1956)

Soloist:  Gaspard Cassadó

Orchestra:  Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Conductor:  Jonel Perlea

 

This specific performance of Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major, Hob. VIIb:2 was recorded in Berlin on December 18, 1940, originally captured on Telefunken 78 RPM shellac discs (catalog Telefunken SK3224 or 3222-4).

This 1940 session was one of Cassadó’s last major recordings in Germany before the escalation of World War II disrupted his international touring schedule. It is highly regarded by historians because Cassadó played an expanded, romanticized arrangement of the concerto (often utilizing the 19th-century version by François-Auguste Gevaert), giving it a completely different emotional weight compared to modern, historically informed Baroque/Classical performances.

I Allegro moderato

II Adagio

III Rondo. Allegro

Gaspar Cassadó

Conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt

Berliner Philharmoniker

 

Brahms Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87

Myra Hess piano

Jelly d’Arányi violin

Gaspar Cassadó cello

Recorded in London across two sessions on October 25 and 27, 1935, this historic release brought together an extraordinary, temporary “super-trio” consisting of British pianist Dame Myra Hess, Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Arányi, and Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassadó. Because it was released as a 78 RPM multi-disc shellac box set (Masterworks Set MM-266 / AM-266), the four movements had to be segmented logically onto individual record sides to fit the 4-to-5-minute side limits of the era. The listing shows how Columbia Records paired the sides to accommodate standard automatic record changers.

Disc 70149-D Side 1 (CAX 7646-2): I. Allegro (Part 1) — Recorded Oct 25 Side 8 (CAX 7653-2): IV. Finale: Allegro giocoso (Part 2) Disc 70150-D Side 2 (CAX 7647-1): I. Allegro (Part 2) Side 7 (CAX 7652-2): IV. Finale: Allegro giocoso (Part 1) Disc 70151-D Side 3 (CAX 7648-1): I. Allegro (Part 3) Side 6 (CAX 7651-2): III. Scherzo: Presto Disc 70152-D Side 4 (CAX 7649-1): II. Andante con moto (Part 1) Side 5 (CAX 7650-2): II. Andante con moto (Part 2) — Recorded Oct 27.

 

Ravel, Mozart – Yehudi Menuhin, Louis Kentner & Gaspar Cassadó – Ravel: Trio In A Minor / Mozart: Trio In E Major

Label: His Master’s Voice – ALP 1849

Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono

Country: UK

Released: 1961

Genre: Classical

Style: Classical, Modern

Ravel: Trio In A Minor

A1 Modéré

A2 Pantoum (Assez Vif)

A3 Passacaille (Très Large)

B1 Final (Animé)

Mozart: Trio In E Major, K. 542

B2 Allegro

B3 Andante Grazioso

B4 Allegro

Liner Notes – Malcolm Rayment

Matrix / Runout (Stamper A): 2XEA 1919-1N

Matrix / Runout (Stamper B): 2XEA 1920-1N

 

Michèle Auclair, Gaspar Cassadó, Otto Schulhof – Kreisler Favorites – Auclair / Cello Encores – Cassado

Label: Remington – R-199-128

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album

Country: US

Released: 1953

Genre: Classical

A1 Praeludium And Allegro

A2 Melodie

A3 Rondino On A Theme Of Beethoven

A4 Songs My Mother Taught Me

A5 Serenade Espagnole

A6 Danse Espagnole

B1 Spinning Wheel, Op. 67, No. 4

B2 Nocturne In E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2

B3 Gavotte, Op. 23

B4 Melody, Op. 3, No. 1

B5 Valse Sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6

B6 Improvisations On “The Blue Danube”

 

Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor, D. 821 (Arr. G. Cassadó for Cello & Orchestra)

Orchestra: Bamberger Symphoniker (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra)

Conductor: Jonel Perlea

Company (Label): Vox Productions (USA)

Catalog Number (LP Number): PL 10.210

Format: 12″ Vinyl, LP, Mono

Release Year: 1956

Mastering Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder (stamped RVG in the deadwax)

 

Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129

Cello: Gaspar Cassadó

Orchestra: Bamberger Symphoniker (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra)

Conductor: Jonel Perlea

Recording Date: September 1956

Original LP Catalog: Vox PL 10.210 (Mono)

 

Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor op 129

1. Nicht zu schnell
2. Langsam
3. Sehr lebhaft

Gaspar Cassado, Cello

Type of Recording: Live / Radio Studio Broadcast (recorded for the South German Radio, SDR).

Date: November 19, 1950 (often listed simply as 1950).

Venue: Villa Berg, Stuttgart, Germany.

Orchestra: Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, then known as Sinfonieorchester des Süddeutschen Rundfunks).

Conductor: Hans Müller-Kray.

 

Brahms: Sonata For ‘Cello And Piano No. 1 In E Minor, Opus 38

Cello: Gaspar Cassadó

Piano: Otto Schulhof

Label: Remington Records

Catalog Number (LP Number): R-149-53 (10″ LP, Mono)

Release Year: 1951

 

Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo-Theme op. 33

Pro Musica Orchestra Wien

Jonel Perlea, Conductor

Company (Label): Vox Productions (USA)

Catalog Number (LP Number): PL 9360 (also released under catalog number M 1240)

Format: 12″ Vinyl, LP, Mono

Recording / Release Year: 1955 / 1957

 

Gaspar Cassadó Cello, Jonel Perlea Conductor, Bamberger Symphoniker, Boccherini, Haydn, Vivaldi – Cello Concertos

Label: VOX – STPL 510.790

Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo

Country: US

Released: 1963

Genre: Classical

Style: Baroque, Classical

Haydn: Cello Concerto In D Major Opus 101

A1 Allegro Moderato

A2 Adagio

A3 Rondo Allegro

Vivaldi: Cello Concerto In E Minor

B1 Largo – Allegro – Lento Espressivo – Vivace

Boccherini: Cello Concerto In B Flat Major

B2 Allegro Moderato – Adagio Non Troppo – Rondo Allegro

© 1963 By Vox Productions, Inc., New York 19, N.Y.

Matrix / Runout (Hand etched): S-315 A

Matrix / Runout (Hand etched): S-315 B

 

Lalo / Saint-Saëns / Fauré – Gaspar Cassado, Bamberg Symphony, Jonel Perlea – Concertos For Cello / Elegie

Label: Vox – STPL 510.920

Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo

Country: US

Genre: Classical

Style: Romantic

A1 Saint-Saëns – Concerto In A Minor, For Cello And Orchestra, Opus 33

Composed By – Saint-Saëns

A2 Fauré – Elegie, For Cello And Orchestra, Opus 24

Composed By – Fauré

Lalo Concerto In D Minor, For Cello And Orchestra

Composed By – Lalo

B1 – Mvt. I — Prelude (Lento); Allegro Maestoso

B2 – Mvt. II — Intermezzo

B3 – Mvt. III — Introduction (Andante); Rondo (Allegro Vivace)

Record Company – Vox Productions, Inc.

Pressed By – Allentown Record Co. Inc.

Cello – Gaspar Cassadó

Conductor – Jonel Perlea

Mastered By – Dr. R. Van Gelder

Orchestra – Bamberg Symphony

Sleeve Notes – Robert Cushman

 

Bach : Gaspar Cassadó – 6 Suites For Cello (Suites Pour Violoncelle)

Label: VOX – VBX 15

Series: VoxBox, Encyclopedia Of Chamber Music, Encyclopédie De La Musique De Chambre

Format: 3 x Vinyl, LP, Album

Box Set

Country: US

Released: 1960

Genre: Classical

Style: Baroque, String Instrument, Suite, Solo

Suite #1 In G Major (BWV 1007)

A1 Prelude

A2 Allemande

A3 Courante

A4 Sarabande

A5 Menuetto I

A6 Menuetto II

A7 Gigue

Suite #2 In D Minor (BWV 1008)

B1 Prelude

B2 Allemande

B3 Courante

B4 Sarabande

B5 Menuetto I

B6 Menuetto II

B7 Gigue

Suite #3 In C Major (BWV 1009)

C1 Prelude

C2 Allemande

C3 Courante

C4 Sarabande

C5 Bouree I

C6 Bouree II

C7 Gigue

Suite #4 In E Flat Major (BWV 1010)

D1 Prelude

D2 Allemande

D3 Courante

D4 Sarabande

D5 Bouree I

D6 Bouree II

D7 Gigue

Suite #5 In C Minor (BWV 1011)

E1 Prelude

E2 Allemande

E3 Courante

E4 Sarabande

E5 Gavotte I

E6 Gavotte II

E7 Gigue

Suite #6 In D Major (BWV 1012) (26:00)

F1 Prelude

F2 Allemande

F3 Courante

F4 Sarabande

F5 Gavotte I

F6 Gavotte II

F7 Gigue

Cello – Gaspar Cassadó

Composed By – Bach