CASALS, PABLO (1876-1973), Spanish cellist, conductor, and composer, one of the foremost cello virtuosos of the 20th
century. Casals was born on Dec. 29, 1876, at Vendrell, a small Catalan town southwest of Barcelona. His father, an organist and music teacher,
gave him his early musical training. By the time he was 12, Casals could play several instruments.
In 1888 he studied the violoncello with José García at the Municipal School of Music at Barcelona. He also studied composition and
cello in Brussels and Paris. In 1897 Casals succeeded García as professor of cello at the Municipal School.
In 1899 the Parisian symphonic conductor Charles Lamoureux brought to public notice the extraordinary talent of Casals, who thus began his career as a
soloist. He toured Europe and the United States in the early 1900's, winning acclaim for his technical mastery and the emotional power of his interpretations.
In 1904 Casals founded, with the pianist Alfred Cortot and the violinist Jacques Thibaud, a celebrated trio.
Since the beginning of his career Casals had felt that conducting was the important work of his life.
In 1920 he created and directed the Pau Casals orchestra and a workers' concert association in Barcelona. He served as guest conductor with such orchestras
as the New York Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Lamoureux and Colonne orchestras in Paris, and the London Symphony.
After the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Casals refused to recognize the Franco regime, and in protest would not perform publicly for a great many years.
In 1939 he left Spain and settled for a time at Prades, France. In 1950 he organized the annual Prades Festival. In 1956 he moved to Puerto Rico,
where he established another music festival. The music world paid tribute to Casals in 1970 when 100 cellists gathered in New York to play Casal's Sardana under his direction.
Casals is universally considered the greatest cello interpreter in our time. He revived important cello works of the 18th and 19th centuries,
and worked out new methods of fingering and various bow techniques. Casals was also an accomplished pianist. He composed music primarily for stringed instruments,
orchestra, and chorus. In 1945, when he conferred on Casals the rank of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor,
Georges Bidault said to him: "You are one of the voices of the world's conscience." Casals died in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 22, 1973.
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