I had the privilege of meeting Maestro Pablo Casáls as a child. By meeting, I literally mean, shaking his hand in a receiving line after attending an extraordinary concert: Zubin Mehta conducted Beethoven's Eight Symphony, and Pablo Casáls conducted Beethoven's Ninth. The setting was a celebration of Beethoven's works, the theme of the Casáls Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that year. My closest school friend knew him much better. Her father, Adolfo Odnopossoff, was his assistant professor of cello in the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. I can honestly say that my childhood was filled with extraordinary music.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore the biography and musical legacy of Maestro Pablo Casals.

¡Gracias, Maestro!

Rare, filmed in 1954 in the Abbaye Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa in France

Pablo Casals Festival Recordings

by Lloyd Schwartz

Fresh Air from WHYY, October 10, 2005 · Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews recordings from the Pablo Casals Festival at Prades (on the Pearl and Music & Arts labels).

Among the selections featuring the famed cellist: the Bach Festival in Prades of 1950, Vols. 1, 2, and 3; and the that held in Perpignan in 1951, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4. They are on the Pearl label distributed by Koch.

Chamber music from the festivals at Prades are also available as a 13-disc set on the Music and Arts label.