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48-424: In its inaugural year Pablo Casals acted as honorary president. The Festival has contributed to the contemporary chamber music repertoire by commissioning 38 pieces from well-known composers, including Aaron Copland , Ned Rorem , Ellen Taaffe Zwilich , and John Harbison . The festival's executive director is Steven Ovitsky. Marc Neikrug has been artistic director since the late 1990s. Participating musicians in

96-601: A cellist in the unoccupied zone of southern France and in Switzerland . He was mocked by the Francoist press, which wrote articles deriding him as "a donkey", and was fined one million pesetas for his political views. So fierce was his opposition to Francoist Spain that he refused to appear in countries that recognized the Spanish government. He made a notable exception when he took part in a concert of chamber music in

144-669: A cellist; on 23 February 1891 he gave a solo recital in Barcelona at the age of fourteen. He graduated from the Escola with honours five years later. In 1893, Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz heard him playing in a trio in a café and gave him a letter of introduction to the Count Guillermo Morphy , the private secretary to María Cristina , the Queen Regent of Spain. Casals was asked to play at informal concerts in

192-501: A male child, Alfonso, who reigned as Alfonso XIII upon his birth. Designated as regent upon the death of her husband in 1885, Maria Christina swore on the 1876 Constitution on 30 December 1885 at the Palacio de las Cortes , before the two legislative bodies. She rejected the title of reina gobernadora ("Queen Governor"), distancing from the memory of the previous regent Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , who had used it in

240-577: A refugee hospital in nearby Perpignan . Casals traveled extensively to Puerto Rico in 1955, inaugurating the annual Casals Festival the next year. In 1955, Casals married as his second wife long-time associate Francesca Vidal i Puig  [ es ] , who died that same year. In 1957, at age 80, Casals married 20-year-old Marta Montañez y Martinez . He is said to have dismissed concerns that marriage to someone 60 years his junior might be hazardous by saying, "I look at it this way: if she dies, she dies." Pau and Marta made their permanent residence in

288-849: A soloist at the Lamoureux Concerts in Paris, to great public and critical acclaim. He toured Spain and the Netherlands with the pianist Harold Bauer from 1900 to 1901; in 1901/02 he made his first tour of the United States; and in 1903 toured South America. On 15 January 1904, Casals was invited to play at the White House for President Theodore Roosevelt . On 9 March of that year he made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, playing Richard Strauss 's Don Quixote under

336-458: A son, was born on 17 May 1886; he was King (Alfonso XIII) from birth. She nurtured a persona of austerity and staidness, and became known among the populace as Doña Virtudes , María la Seca ("Mary the Curt One") and la institutriz ("the governess"). She displayed strong religious beliefs which gained her the endorsement of Pope Leo XIII , weakening the adherence to Carlist stances within

384-583: A venue for chamber music. Pau Casals Elementary School in Chicago is named in his honor. I.S. 181 in the Bronx is also named after Casals. Casals' motet O vos omnes , composed in 1932, is frequently performed today. In Pablo Larraín 's 2016 film Jackie , Casals is played by Roland Pidoux . In 2019, Casal's album Bach Six Cello Suites was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in

432-557: Is " Ya verás cómo todo se arregla providencialmente. Pero, si muero, guarda el coño y ándate siempre de Cánovas a Sagasta y de Sagasta a Cánovas " ("You will see how everything is going to be providentially fixed, yet if I die, keep your pussy at bay and always go from Cánovas to Sagasta and from Sagasta to Cánovas "). While possibly apocryphal, it is representative of the Restoration era . Months later, in May 1886, she would give birth to

480-492: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: [ˈpaw kəˈzalz i ðəfiˈʎo] ; 29 December 1876 – 22 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals , was a Catalan and Puerto Rican cellist, composer, and conductor. He made many recordings throughout his career of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, including some as conductor, but he

528-631: Is perhaps best remembered for the recordings he made of the Cello Suites by Bach . He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy (though the ceremony was presided over by Lyndon B. Johnson ). Casals was born in El Vendrell , Tarragona, Spain. His father, Carles Casals i Ribes, was a parish organist and choirmaster . He gave Casals instruction in piano, songwriting, violin, and organ. He

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576-593: The Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as by the prestige attained by the Habsburgs in their previous involvement in the history of Spain, and blocked the possibility of a prospective Austrian endorsement to the Carlist cause. After giving birth to two daughters — María de las Mercedes (born 1880) and María Teresa (born 1882)— she ensured dynastic continuity, yet, with the threatening landmark for

624-684: The Casals Festival is still celebrated annually. There is also a museum dedicated to the life of Casals located in Old San Juan . On 3 October 2009, Sala Sinfónica Pau Casals , a symphony hall named in Casals' honour, opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico . The $ 34 million building, designed by Rodolfo Fernandez, is the latest addition to the Centro de Bellas Artes complex. It is the new home of

672-698: The East Room at the White House by invitation of President Kennedy at a dinner given in honor of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Marín . This performance was recorded and released as an album . Casals was also a composer. Perhaps his most effective work is La Sardana , for an ensemble of cellos, which he composed in 1926. His oratorio El Pessebre was performed for the first time in Acapulco , Mexico, on 17 December 1960. He also presented it to

720-589: The National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria ( Spanish : María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena ; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of Alfonso XII . She was queen regent during the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death in November 1885 and

768-625: The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra . Prades, France, is home to another Pablo Casals Museum located inside the public library. Many of the artist's memorabilia and precious documents are there: photos, concert outfits, authentic letters, original scores of the Pessebre, interview soundtracks, films, paintings, a cello, and his first piano. In Tokyo , the Casals Hall , designed by Arata Isozaki , opened in 1987 as

816-714: The Victor label). Back in Paris, Casals organized a trio with the pianist Alfred Cortot and the violinist Jacques Thibaud ; they played concerts and made recordings until 1937. Casals also became interested in conducting, and in 1919 he organized, in Barcelona, the Pau Casals Orchestra and led its first concert on 13 October 1920. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the Orquesta Pau Casals ceased its activities. Casals

864-404: The White House on 13 November 1961, at the invitation of President John F. Kennedy , whom he admired. On 6 December 1963, Casals was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom . Throughout most of his professional career, he played on a cello that was labeled and attributed to " Carlo Tononi ... 1733" but after he had been playing it for 50 years it was discovered to have been created by

912-518: The 1830s. When the King died on 25 November 1885, Maria Christina was pregnant, so the throne was vacant, depending on whether Maria Christina's unborn child was a male or a female; a male would make that child king, while a female would place the elder daughter, the Princess of Asturias, María de las Mercedes, on the throne. During this period, Maria Christina ruled as regent until her child Alfonso ,

960-629: The Cortes passed a law granting a 500.000 pesetas annuity for the future queen consort on 2 November. The terms of the marriage were settled in an agreement executed between Austria and Spain in Vienna on 15 November by their respective plenipotentiaries. That same day Maria Christina renounced her succession rights to the Austrian throne before the Emperor and the court according to the tradition imposed to

1008-711: The Queen's Hall on the second day of the Festival (23 May). The piece chosen was Haydn 's Cello Concerto in D and Casals would later join Fritz Kreisler for Brahms 's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello . In 1914, Casals married the American socialite and singer Susan Metcalfe ; they were separated in 1928, but did not divorce until 1957. Although Casals made his first recordings in 1915 (a series for Columbia ), he would not release another recording until 1926 (on

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1056-543: The United Nations during their anniversary in 1963. He was initiated as an honorary member of the Epsilon Iota chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity at Florida State University in 1963. He was later awarded the fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award in 1973. One of his last compositions was the "Hymn of the United Nations". He conducted its first performance in a special concert at

1104-568: The United Nations on 24 October 1971, two months before his 95th birthday. On that day, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant , awarded Casals the U.N. Peace Medal in recognition of his stance for peace, justice and freedom. Casals accepted the medal and made his famous " I Am a Catalan " speech, where he stated that Catalonia had the first democratic parliament , long before England did. In 1973, invited by his friend Isaac Stern , Casals arrived at Jerusalem to conduct

1152-596: The Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriller around 1700. Casals acquired it in 1913. He also played another cello by Goffriller dated 1710, and a Tononi from 1730. In 1950, he resumed his career as conductor and cellist at the Prades Festival in Conflent , organized in commemoration of the bicentenary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach ; Casals agreed to participate on condition that all proceeds were to go to

1200-535: The age of 96, from complications of a heart attack he had had three weeks earlier. He was buried at Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico . He did not live to see the end of the Francoist State, which occurred two years later, but he was posthumously honoured by the Spanish government under King Juan Carlos I which in 1976 issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting Casals, in honour of

1248-540: The archduchesses who were to marry a foreign prince. Another marriage agreement was signed in Madrid on 28 November by the King and Maria Christina themselves. The wedding took place on 29 November 1879 at the Basilica of Atocha in Madrid. The arranged marriage (the second of Alfonso XII after the death of his first wife María de las Mercedes of Orléans ), was concerted on the basis of the conservative profile espoused by

1296-475: The baton of the composer. In 1906, he became associated with the talented young Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia , who studied with him and began to appear in concerts as Mme. P. Casals-Suggia, although they were not legally married. Their relationship ended in 1912. The New York Times of 9 April 1911 announced that Casals would perform at the London Musical Festival to be held at

1344-627: The birth of their son Alfonso XIII in May 1886, and subsequently also until the latter's coming of age in May 1902. Known to her family as Christa, she was born at Židlochovice Castle (Groß Seelowitz), near Brünn (now Brno ), in Moravia , a daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria . Her paternal grandparents were Archduke Charles of Austria and Princess Henriette Alexandrine of Nassau-Weilburg . Various sources attributed good traits to Maria Christina before her marriage. One states she

1392-422: The centenary of his birth. In 1979 his remains were interred in his hometown of El Vendrell, Tarragona. In 1989, Casals was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . In 1959, American writer Max Eastman wrote of Casals: He is by common consent the greatest cellist that ever lived. Fritz Kreisler went farther and described him as "the greatest man who ever drew a bow." The southern part of

1440-424: The clergy. Her chief adviser and head of government was Práxedes Mateo Sagasta . Her rule is described as well-balanced and in accordance with respect for constitutional rights, and many political reforms were instated during her regency to prevent political conflicts and chaos. Her role was mostly ceremonial, and her purpose was to preserve the crown for her son until he became an adult. Her spell as regent saw

1488-804: The faculty of the Escola Municipal de Música in Barcelona. He was also appointed principal cellist in the orchestra of Barcelona's opera house, the Liceu . In 1897 he appeared as soloist with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra , and was awarded the Order of Carlos III from the Queen. In 1899, Casals played at The Crystal Palace in London, and later for Queen Victoria at Osborne House , her summer residence, accompanied by Ernest Walker . On 12 November, and 17 December 1899, he appeared as

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1536-552: The festival's history included Yuja Wang , Walter Trampler and Andre-Michel Schub . Major venues include Lensic Performing Arts Center and St. Francis Auditorium in New Mexico Museum of Art . A radio series from the festival is broadcast by the WFMT Radio Network. This music festival-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This New Mexico -related article

1584-690: The highway C-32 in Catalonia, Spain, is named Autopista de Pau Casals . The International Pau Casals Cello Competition is held in Kronberg and Frankfurt am Main , Germany, under the auspices of the Kronberg Academy once every four years, starting in 2000, to discover and further the careers of the future cello elite, and is supported by the Pau Casals Foundation, under the patronage of his widow, Marta Casals Istomin . One of

1632-441: The latter never recovered politically from the blow. Within little more than two years the monarchy had collapsed. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia described her in her 1932 memoirs as "Queen Christine, a trim vivacious little old lady with an intelligent, sharp face and white hair. Her manner was perfectly simple and cordial, but you felt, nevertheless, that she was a sovereign of the old school, who had never stepped outside

1680-618: The loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines after the 1898 Spanish–American War . After the marriage of her son with Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg in 1906, she took a secondary role in public events. Nevertheless, Alfonso XIII continued to look to her on many occasions for advice. She was the leading figure around which the Germanophile stronghold within the Royal Court coalesced during World War I , in contrast to

1728-549: The palace, and was granted a royal stipend to study composition at the Madrid Royal Conservatory in Madrid with Víctor Mirecki . He also played in the newly organised Quartet Society. In 1895, he traveled to Paris, where, having lost his stipend , he earned a living by playing second cello in the theatre orchestra of the Folies Marigny . In 1896, he returned to Spain and received an appointment to

1776-487: The prizes is the use of one of the Gofriller cellos owned by Casals. The first top prize was awarded in 2000 to Claudio Bohórquez . Australian radio broadcaster Phillip Adams often fondly recalls Casals' 80th birthday press conference where, after complaining at length about the troubles of the world, he paused to conclude with the observation: "The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step". In Puerto Rico,

1824-577: The pro- Entente minority faction represented by her daughter-in-law, the British-born Victoria Eugenie. Spain remained a neutral country during the conflict. She died on 6 February 1929, at the Royal Palace of Madrid , after some weeks of heart disease. She is buried at El Escorial . Sir Charles Petrie , Alfonso XIII's biographer, maintained that the Queen dowager's death had a disastrous effect on her son, and that

1872-416: The ruling dynasty set by the previous Carlist Wars, she was still pressured to undergo a new pregnancy and give birth to a male child in order to consolidate the political system, as it was considered at the time. She became pregnant again before the death of her husband in November 1885 (the king suffered from tuberculosis yet he led an active life). An attributed dying wish by Alfonso XII pleading to her

1920-594: The specific purpose of meeting Archduchess Maria Christina and her mother Archduchess Elisabeth. In this first meeting, the King proposed to her and she accepted. In early September 1878, the Spanish Government approved the engagement and Emperor Franz Joseph asked his niece to officially relinquish her title of Abbess of the Theresian Convent of Prague as it was necessary for the future queen to abandon all her Austrian appointments. The proposal

1968-657: The town of Ceiba , and lived in a house called "El Pessebre" (The Manger). He made an impact in the Puerto Rican music scene by founding the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra in 1958, and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico in 1959. Casals appeared in the 1958 documentary film Windjammer . In the 1960s, Casals gave many master classes throughout the world in places such as Gstaad , Zermatt , Tuscany, Berkeley , and Marlboro . Several of these master classes were televised. On 13 November 1961, he performed in

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2016-764: The youth orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. The Jerusalem Music Center in Mishkenot Sha'ananim was inaugurated by Casals shortly before his death. The concert he conducted with the youth orchestra at the Jerusalem Khan Theater was the last concert he conducted. Casals' memoirs were taken down by Albert E. Kahn , and published as Joys and Sorrows: Pablo Casals, His Own Story (1970). Casals died in 1973 at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico , at

2064-588: Was "tall, fair, sensible, and well educated". She was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter of Prague Castle (1875-1879). After the death of Queen María de las Mercedes in June 1878, King Alfonso XII was determined to remarry to produce an heir. The Queen had died just a few months after her marriage with no descendants and negotiations started with the court of Vienna. In August, Alfonso XII traveled to Arcachon , Gironde, with

2112-422: Was also a very strict disciplinarian. When Casals was young his father would pull the piano out from the wall and have him and his brother, Artur, stand behind it and name the notes and the scales that his father was playing. At the age of four, Casals could play the violin, piano and flute; at the age of six he played the violin well enough to perform a solo in public. His first encounter with a cello-like instrument

2160-874: Was an ardent supporter of the Spanish Republican government , and after its defeat vowed not to return to Spain until democracy was restored. Casals performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on 19 October 1938, possibly his last performance in Spain before his exile. In the last weeks of 1936, he stayed in Prades , a small village in France near the Spanish border, where Casals would settle in 1939, in Pyrénées-Orientales , an historically Catalan region. Between 1939 and 1942 he made sporadic appearances as

2208-415: Was enrolled in the Escola Municipal de Música. There he studied cello, theory, and piano. In 1890, when he was 13, he found a tattered copy of Bach's six cello suites in a second-hand music store in Barcelona. He spent the next 13 years practicing them every day before he would perform them in public for the first time. Casals would later make his own version of the six suites. He made prodigious progress as

2256-520: Was from witnessing a local travelling Catalan musician , who played a cello-strung broom handle. Upon request, his father built him a crude cello, using a gourd as a sound-box. When Casals was eleven, he first heard the real cello performed by a group of traveling musicians, and decided to dedicate himself to the instrument. His mother, Doña Pilar Defilló de Casals , was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico , to parents who were Catalan immigrants in Puerto Rico. In 1888, she took her son to Barcelona, where he

2304-425: Was gazetted in the Wiener Zeitung on 7 September: "His Majesty the King of Spain, during his visit to Arcachon, has requested the hand of the Most Serene Lady Archduchess Maria Christina... with previous consent of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, as Chief of the Imperial Family, the Most Serene Lady Archduchess has accepted the said proposal". In compliance with Article 56 of the Constitution of Spain ,

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