Pablo Casals, Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor
Dec. 12, 1976 - 100th Birthday of Cellist Pablo Casals: Hundred years ago, on December 29th 1976, world famous cello player Pablo Casals (pictured) was born in Vendrell, Catalonia. At only 21 years old Casals became the soloist of the Lamoureux concerts in Paris. Concerts in London, Vienna, Berlin and the United States made him well-known within a short time. In 1919 he became the leader of the Orquesta Pau Casals. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1937, Casals went to live in the United States and refused to play the cello for a while as a protest against the dictatorship of Franco, where he organised Bach Festivals once a year. At the age of 80, Pablo Casals married his 21 year old pupil Margarita Montanes with whom he lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico until his death on October 22nd 1973. Several music festivals will be held all over the world on the occasion of the 100th birthday of this great musician
