orig. Pau Casals
born Dec. 29, 1876, Vendrell, Spain
died Oct. 22, 1973, Río Piedras, P.R.
Spanish (Catalan)-born U.S. cellist and conductor.
He received early instruction from his organist father and took up the cello and composition in his teens. A romantic who eschewed the drier, literal interpretations of modernism, Casals established an innovative technique employing more flexible fingering positions and freer bowing. He performed internationally as soloist, in a trio with Alfred Cortot (1877–1962) and Jacques Thibaud (1880–1953), and from the 1920s as a conductor. Refusing to return to Spain after Francisco Franco took power, he ultimately made his home in Puerto Rico.