Pablo Casals

Spanish cellist, conductor and composer (1876–1973)

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Lived 1876–1973, aged 97Spain

Spain MusiciansSinger / Musician

Wikipedia
52 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1876–1973
Aged 97
Known for
Bombal
2012

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

He gave the cello suites Bach wrote a voice the world had never heard — and then gave up his homeland rather than play under dictatorship. Casals walked away from Spain in 1939 and didn't return, turning exile into a second career and a principle that lasted thirty-four years.

Biography

About

Born Pau Casals i Defilló in Catalonia in 1876, he built an international career on recordings of solo, chamber, and orchestral work that traveled everywhere. When Franco's forces took Spain in 1939, Casals refused to go back until democracy returned — a line he held for the rest of his life. He settled first in Prades, France, then moved to Ceiba, Puerto Rico in 1956. Kennedy awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, though Johnson handed it over. In 1971 he conducted his Hymn to the United Nations at the U.N. itself, received the Peace Medal, and closed with a short speech and a…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Pablo Casals

Pablo Casals

said24 Oct 1971

This is the greatest honour I have ever received in my life. Peace has always been my greatest concern. Yet in my childhood I learned to love it.

— Pau Casals Speech before the United Nations Assembly (24 October 1971) PDF

Pablo Casals

said24 Oct 1971

I have not played the cello in front of an audience since long years but I think I must do it this time.

— Pau Casals Speech before the United Nations Assembly (24 October 1971) PDF

Pablo Casals

saidundated

The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border? There is a brotherhood among all men. This must be recognized if life is to remain.

— As quoted in Joys and Sorrows : Reflections‎ by Pablo Casals as told to Albert E. Kahn (1974) by Albert E. Kahn

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

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Deep cuts

Albums

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Trio No. 7 in B‐Flat Major, Op. 97 ’Archduke’ (Pablo Casals – The Philips Legacy, Vol. 3)
2022
Piano Quartet No. 3, Op. 60 & Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 87
2021
Concerto for Flute, Violin and Keyboard, BWV 1044, Violin Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052R & Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050
2021
Hommage à Pablo Casals
2019
Songs of the Cello: Homage to Pablo Casals
2019
Songs of the Stars
2009
Sonatas for Piano and Cello
2008