Part I: Pablo Casals

Biographical note

Pablo Casals (1876-1973) was a Catalan cellist, composer and conductor. As a cellist, he was celebrated for his interpretations of J. S. Bach's unaccompanied suites. He left Spain in 1939 to live in Prades, in the French Pyrenees, where he founded an annual music festival. In 1956 he moved to Puerto Rico, where he launched the Casals Festival in 1957, and later toured extensively in the USA. He wrote instrumental and choral works, including the Christmas oratorio "The Manger."

In 1971, at the age of 95, he wrote the "Hymn to the United Nations" in collaboration with poet W. H. Auden, for which he was awarded a UN Peace Medal by Secretary-General U Thant. In addition to being a musical genius, Pablo Casals was a tireless crusader for peace.