#Pablo Casals

[joeinct]

Pablo Casals, Berlin, Photo by Erich Salomon, c. 1935

[henk-heijmans]

Pablo Casals (1876 - 1973, Spanish/Puerto Rican), the legendary cellist, 1954 - by Yousuf Karsh (1908 – 2002), Armenian/Canadian

[federer7]

1954 Pablo Casals. 1954

Photo by Yousuf Karsh

[artisthomes]

Home of Pablo Casals in Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico

[citizenscreen]

Cellist/composer/conductor Pablo Casals was born on December 29, 1876 #botd

[lascitasdelashoras]

Pablo Casals por Arthur Leipzig

[elegantzombielite]

"The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?"

Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (29th December 1876-1973)

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Pablo Casals photographed by Yousuf Karsh, 1954

[intomore]

Yousuf Karsh, "Pablo Casals," 1954 / printed later,

Gelatin silver print,

Image: 19¾ h × 15¾ w in (50 × 40 cm),

Mount: 28 h × 22 w in (71 × 56 cm)

[dk-thrive]

The music is never the same for me, never.

It is not a mechanical routine but something essential to my daily life. I go to the piano, and I play two preludes and fugues of Bach. I cannot think of doing otherwise. It is a sort of benediction on the house. But that is not its only meaning for me. It is a rediscovery of the world of which I have the joy of being a part. It fills me with awareness of the wonder of life, with a feeling of the incredible marvel of being a human being. The music is never the same for me, never. Each day is something new, fantastic, unbelievable.

— Pablo Casals, Joys and Sorrows (Simon and Schuster, April 15, 1974) (via The Marginalian)

[panchicha]

pablo casals

[opera-ghosts]

OTD in Music History: Celebrated 20th Century Spanish virtuoso cellist Pablo Casals (1876 - 1973) dies in Puerto Rico. Casals is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time. He made many recordings throughout his career—including some as a conductor—but he is undoubtedly best remembered for the landmark series of recordings of the Bach Cello Suites that he made between 1936 and 1939. In 1957, the 81-year-old Casals agreed to make a short movie with director Robert Snyder, entitled, “A Day in the Life of Pablo Casals." In the course of an extended interview, Snyder asked Casals why he still continued to practice between 4 - 5 hours every day. Without missing a beat, Casals quickly answered: “Because I think I am making progress.” PICTURED: A c. 1900 real photo postcard, showing the very young Casals posed with his cello.

[unicornheadnebula]

Cellist and Unicorn

Pablo Casals — the greatest cellist of the time in Salar de Uyuni with a unicorn. 

DALL-E Impressionism

[dragons-hoard-reviews]

From beyond the hoard...

David Blum's Casals and the Art of Interpretation

This 1977 pseudo-biography is a must-read for every musician or music teacher. Each chapter gives an insightful look into how musicians can interpret the music rather than just play the notes on the page.

If you don't know, Pablo Casals (1876-1973) was a Spanish cellist, conductor, educator, and above all, musician. His success as a performer can be attributed to his ideas on interpretation, which Blum masterfully illustrates in this book.

The first chapter, aptly named "The First Principle," is an exploration of something that the western musician might not think of. Xie He's principles of painting were developed in the fifth century in China, and the first one is particularly important to musicians of the modern day; creativity, or "spirit-resonance". This concept is explored in terms of putting your feeling and spirit through the instrument (instrument here including the voice).

The second chapter, "Finding the Design," is an exploration of deviating from the score. Casals, and therefore Blum, argues that in looking at the score for performance, we must add to what we see. He states in regard to the second movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E♭ Major that "Although only piano is written, we must follow the line of the music; we must find the design!" This concept is explored throughout the chapter.

The third chapter, Casals and Bach, is interesting from a musicological point of view as it explores how to play compositions by Johan Sebastian Bach accurately. If one looks at the life and times of Bach, we can see that he was an emotionally passionate person. This, I argue, must show through in his music. Casals agrees with this, saying that his music is subject to interpretation just as all other music is.

Because I am a wind player (and the fact this chapter was not assigned in my music seminar) I skipped chapter four, . While I assume that it is quite good for string players, a string player I am not.

The last chapter, "A Casals Rehearsal: The Pastoral Symphony," is truly mindblowing. It details what Blum observed over "several" rehearsals with Casals of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. While great, it will only have the intended impact if you have both read the rest of the book and know the Pastoral Symphony well.

Overall, in my opinion, this is a must-read for any musician or music teacher.

[music-crush]

Pablo Casals

Feliç aniversari, Pau Casals i Defilló (Pablo Casals)!