Description

PABLO CASALS (DECEMBER 29, 1876, VENDRELL, SPAIN – RÍO PIEDRAS, PUERTO RICO, OCTOBER 22, 1973)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Pau Casals i Defilló. He made his debut in Barcelona in 1891 after early training in composition, cello, and piano. After further study in Madrid and Brussels he returned to Barcelona in 1896 as principal cellist at the Gran Teatro del Liceo. By this time he had established his innovative technique; by making his left-hand positions more flexible and using a freer bowing technique, he created an individual style marked by seeming effortlessness and a singing tone. Casals toured internationally between 1898 and 1917 and formed a celebrated trio with Alfred Cortot (piano) and Jacques Thibaud (violin). Having won an international reputation as a cellist, Casals helped found in 1919 the École Normale de Musique in Paris and also established and conducted the Orquestra Pau Casals in Barcelona. An outspoken opponent of Fascism, he was forced to move in 1936 to Prades in Catalan France. He refused to return to Spain after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and announced his retirement from public performance in 1946 to protest worldwide recognition of the Franco regime in Spain; in 1950, however, he returned to recording and conducting, choosing spoken over silent protest. In 1956 he moved to Puerto Rico, from which place he continued his personal musical crusade for peace until his death. Casals was a romantic who eschewed the drier, literal interpretations of modernism. His love for the works of J.S. Bach formed the core of his sensibilities. He revitalized appreciation of Bach’s cello music, especially with his masterful rendition of the six unaccompanied suites for cello.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Abenlied (Schumann) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 2-07887 DB 1039
2. Andante (Bach; arr., Siloti) (piano Blai-Net) Gramophone DB 1404 32-1176
3. Après un rêve (Fauré) Gramophone DA 731 3-7864
4. Chanson villageoise, op. 62, nº 2 (Popper) Gramophone DA 731 3-7865
5. Concerto Grave ed Espressivo (Tartini) (piano Blai-Net) Gramophone JS8A CJ2265
6. Danzas españolas nº 5 (Granados) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DA 1015 A 34416
7. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Morgenlich leuchtend (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 2-07884 A 34412
8. Gavotte tendre (Hillemacher) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 3-7889 DA 862
9. Goyescas Intermezzo (Granados) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DB 1067 A 31978
10. Jocelyn Berceuse (Godard) (piano Nicolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 2-07886 DB 1039
11. Le carnaval des animaux Le cygne (Saint-Saëns) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DA 776 A 34074
12. Lied ohne Worte, Op.109 (Mendelssohn) Gramophone DB 1399 CJ 2277
13. Melodia en fa violonchelo, piano, op. 3, n. 1 (Rubinstein) Gramophone DA 833 A 34421
14. Menuet (Debussy) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 3-7890 DA 862
15. Momento musical (Schubert ; arr. Becker) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DA 776 A 31979
16. Nocturno en mi bemol mayor, op. 9, n. 2 (Chopin; arr. Popper) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DB 966 A 34419
17. Preludio (Chopin; arr. Sieveking) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DB 966 A 34415
18. Requibros (Cassado) Gramophone JS8B DB1391B
19. Suite en re Aria (Bach) (piano Otto Schulhof) Gramophone DB 1404 32-1280
20. Tannhauser (Wagner) O du mein holder Abendstern  (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone 2-07884 A 34076
21. Tocata en sol mayor Adagio (Bach) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DB 1067 A 31977
22. Träumerei (Schumann) Gramophone DA 833 A 34075
23. Vito, Op. 54 nº 5 Danza (Popper) (piano Nikolai Mednikoff) Gramophone DA 1015 A 31973