1876
Born in El Vendrell
He was born on 29th December 1876 in El Vendrell. His father, Carles Casals Riba was a musician and organist from El Vendrell. His mother, Pilar Defilló Amiguet, born in Puerto Rico, imparted the principles of justice and democracy to him.
1882
First musical performance
On 27th April, he gave his first musical performance as second soprano in the El Vendrell choir. His father starts teaching him music and piano. He begins his primary school studies at the Escola Montserrat in El Vendrell.
1883
First composition
He collaborates with his father on a score for a performance of the Shepherds’ play, The Little Shepherds in Bethlehem. He starts to study violin.
1885
La carabasseta
His father and “Peret”, the barber, build him the little courgette, considered to be his first cello. Plays the organ in El Vendrell for the first time.
1888
Takes up the cello for the first time and begins to study in Barcelona
A chamber music trio, with José García on cello, gives a concert at the Catholic Center in El Vendrell. It is the first time Pablo Casals sees and hears a cello, and he decides that this is the instrument he wants to play. At the end of the summer he travels to Barcelona with his mother and begins his five-year studies at the Municipal School of Music with Josep Rodoreda as composition teacher and José Garcia as cello teacher. His father buys him a ¾-size cello.
1889
First musical performances
He begins to play at the Cafè Tost in Barcelona seven days a week, three hours a night for four pesetas. During the summer in Sant Salvador, he gives his first concert in Tarragona.
1890
Discovery of the Cello Suites by J.S. Bach in Barcelona.
He attends a concert in Barcelona conducted by Richard Strauss. He discovers the six Cello Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach (Ed. Grützmacher) in Barcelona. His father buys him a large cello.
1891
Isaac Albéniz and friendship with Enric Granados
On 23rd February he takes part in a benefit concert for the comic actress Concepció Palà at the Teatro Novedades in Barcelona. Isaac Albéniz writes a letter of recommendation for Pablo Casals, to Count Morphy, patron and secretary to the Queen Regent of Spain, María Cristina. He begins to work at La Pajarera, a café located in the Plaça de Catalunya, with performances every night as a trio with Ibarguren and Armengol. The group grows to six members and becomes part of the so-called Sextet de la Pajarera. During this year he meets the composer Enric Granados, with whom he begins a long friendship.
1893
He receives a scholarship from Queen María Cristina and begins his studies in Madrid
In the spring he graduates with honors from the Barcelona Municipal School of Music. He travels to Madrid and Queen María Cristina grants him a scholarship of 250 pesetas a month. He begins his second stage of musical training in Madrid at the Conservatorio de Música y Declamación with Jesús de Monasterio as professor of chamber music. During these years he establishes a personal relationship with Queen María Cristina, who becomes his protector.
1894
First tours of Spain
In November he made his debut at the Café Romero in Madrid, forming part of a quartet with the violinist Julio Francés, the viola player Rafael Gálvez, Peralta on second violin and José Güervós as pianist. In late 1894 and early 1895, he began a tour of several provinces of Spain with tenor Damian Roura, pianist Saturnino Fresno and violinist Julio Francés.
1895
Brussels and loss of the scholarship
On 14th February he is appointed Knight of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic. He travels to Brussels with a letter of recommendation from François Gavaërt, director of the Conservatory of Music there. After the entrance examinations with Edouard Jacobs, Pablo Casals declines admission to the conservatory. Queen María Cristina withdraws his pension. He decides to go to Paris, where he spends some difficult times and professional uncertainty. At the end of 1895 he returns to Barcelona.
1896
First pupils and concerts in Barcelona
Pablo Casals moves into no. 6, Plaça de Catalunya. He begins to give private cello lessons and his first pupil is Francesca Vidal. In May he becomes a teacher at the Barcelona Municipal School of Music and in November he is appointed cello teacher at the Conservatori del Liceu. He begins to give concerts in small clubs around Barcelona, such as the Ateneu Barcelonès and the Ateneu Gracienc. In Barcelona he meets Isaac Albéniz, Agustín Rubio, Enrique Fernández Arbós, Enric Granados and Saint-Saëns.
1897
Musical collaborations with Enric Granados
Formation of the Quartet Crickboom with Pablo Casals on cello, Mathieu Crickboom and Josep Rocabruna on violin and Rafael Gálvez on viola. Pablo Casals begins a tour of Spain with Enric Granados and Mathieu Crickboom. Queen María Cristina gives him a new cello, a Guarnerius.
1898
The Netherlands and the Espinho Sextet in Portugal
In July he plays in the Netherlands for Queen Wilhelmina. At the end of the year he forms part of the Espinho Sextet in Portugal and plays for King Carlos I and Queen Amélia.
1899
Concert for Queen Victoria of England and international debut in Paris
Pablo Casals travels to Paris and takes up residence in the house of the American singer Emma Nevada. On 20th May he makes his debut in Crystal Palace, London, with Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D minor, and on 20th August he performs in a private concert in front of Queen Victoria of England on the Isle of Wight. He returns to Paris and at the end of the year makes his international debut under the great French conductor Charles Lamoureux at the Théâtre de la République in Paris.
1900
Residence in Paris and musical collaborations
He takes up residence in Paris and begins his great career as an international soloist. Begins musical collaboration with the pianist Harold Bauer. He gives concerts in San Sebastián and at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid, among others.
1901
First trip to the United States
In November, he makes his first trip to the United States for a tour with the singer Emma Nevada, the pianist Leon Moreau and the flutist Daniel Marcasi, until June 1902.
In San Francisco, he suffers an accident to his left hand while climbing Mount Tamalpais, forcing him to abandon the tour. During these months he moved into Michael Stein’,s house and began a long friendship with his children, Gertrude and Leo Stein.
Queen María Christina presents him with the Grand Knight’s Cross of the Royal Order of Charles III.
1903
Tour of South America with the pianist Harold Bauer and the violinist Moreira de Sá
On 3rd May he begins a tour of South America with Harold Bauer and Moreira de Sá.
1904
Debut at Carnegie Hall and concert at the White House
He begins his second trip to the United States, this time as a soloist. On 12th January he gives his first performance at the New Lyceum Theatre in New York, playing Haydn’s Concerto in D minor with the American Symphony Orchestra. On 15th January he is invited to play at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. On 9th March he makes his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, performing Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote. In May he begins his second tour of South America with the pianist Harold Bauer.
1905
First trip to Russia and the beginning of his relationship with Guilhermina Suggia
In Paris he moves into number 20, Molitor villa. Begins a relationship with the Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia. One of the most active years of his life begins. He plays in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, London, St. Petersburg, among others.
In November he makes his first trip to Russia, to perform at a concert in the Hall of the Nobility in St. Petersburg, initiating his first contacts with Moscow’s musical circles: the pianists Alexander Siloti, the composers Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui, Glazunov and Aleksandr Skriabin.
1906
Career as a soloist is consolidated and the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals is formed
He begins an intensive series of concerts and musical performances all over Europe.
On 18th December 1906, together with the pianist Alfred Cortot and the violinist Jacques Thibaud, he creates the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals. In December, the trio makes its debut in a concert in Lille (France), becoming one of the most important musical ensembles of the time.
1909
Links with the Classical Concert Society of London and the Northlands School
On 20th October he is invited by Edward Speyer to play at the Bechstein Hall for the Classical Concert Society of London.
He begins his friendship with the pianist and composer Donald Francis Tovey and members of the Northlands School: Sophie Weisse, Julius Röntgen, Robert Trevelyan, Jelly d’Arányi, Adila Fachiri, etc.
1910
Debut in Vienna and construction of the house of Sant Salvador, El Vendrell
In November he makes his debut in Vienna, performing Emanuel Móor’s Concerto in C-sharp minor in the Great Hall of the Musikverein with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Franz Schalk.
He builds a summer house in front of Sant Salvador beach, in El Vendrell, where he spends his summers with his mother, brothers and family.
1911
Concerts in Budapest and England
He continues his tireless musical performances. In May he plays in Budapest with Eugène Ysaÿe and Raoul Pugno, in March he plays at the Queen’s Hall in London, in April he performs as a soloist in Budapest and later in London performing the two Chelsea concerts by Donald Francis Tovey.
1912
Concerts with Eugène Ysaÿe and George Enescu
In January, with Eugène Ysaÿe, performs Brahms’ Double Concerto in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and on 20th February in the Great Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. In February, he plays Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Donald Francis Tovey and George Enescu in Budapest. On 21st March he receives the Gold Medal of the Philharmonic Society of London.
1913
He meets Susan Metcalfe and leaves his usual residence in Paris
He meets the American singer Susan Metcalfe concert in Berlin. He leaves Molitor villa in Paris. On 14th December he gives his last concert in St. Petersburg.
1914
Marries Susan Metcalfe and makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York
In March sails for New York. On 4th April he marries Susan Metcalfe in New Rochelle (NY) and they begin a tour of the United States together. On 13th December he performs his first concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, playing Saint-Saëns’ Concerto and Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, with the Opera Orchestra and conductor Richard Hageman. On 28th February he performs a concert with Harold Bauer at the Symphony Hall in Boston and later performs Lalo’s Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Karl Muck.
1915
First recordings with the Columbia Graphophone Company
On 15th January he makes the first recording of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, Händel’s Ombra mai fu (Xerxes), Rubinstein’s Melody in F and the second movement (Adagio) of Tartini’s Cello concerto in D minor. After a few days he makes the second recording of Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, records Spanish Dance, no. 2 by Popper, Le cygne by Saint-Saëns and a Romanza by Campagnoli.
Between 1915 and 1924 Pablo Casals records more than 50 different short works for Columbia Graphophone Records.
1916
First performance of the opera Goyescas and death of Enric Granados
On 28th January 1916, Enric Granados premieres his opera Goyescas at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Pablo Casals helps his friend with the rehearsals and preparations for the work.
On 24th March, Enric Granados and his wife Amparo die when the ship Sussex, on which they were travelling back to Europe, is torpedoed by a German U-boat. He takes part in the benefit concert at the Metropolitan Opera House organised for the children of his friend Enric Granados, together with Paderewski and Fritz Kreisler.
1917-1918
Refuses to play in Russia
He continues his concerts in Europe and the United States and his tours with Harold Bauer. In October, after the Russian Revolution, Pablo Casals decides not to return to play in Russia in rejection of its policies and in support of the situation experienced by his friends such as Alexander Siloti.
1919
Tour of Mexico and creation of the Orchestra Pau Casals
On 10th January he performs in Mexico City with the City Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Josep Rocabruna, beginning a three-week tour of the country. On 14th April he performs at the Bohemian Club in New York with Rachmaninov. He returns to Barcelona in spring. In June he begins working on creating the Orchestra Pau Casals.
1920
Founding of the École Normale de Musique de Paris and inaugural concert of the Orchestra Pau Casals
During January and February he tours the United States. Together with Alfred Cortot and Jacques Thibaud, he founds the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he conducts performance courses every summer. The Orchestra Pau Casals performs its first concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana on 13th October.
1921
He continues his career as a soloist
Between 1921 and 1930 he continues to give concerts every year in England with the Manchester Hallé Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the Symphony Orchestra of London and the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and until 1928 he makes an annual tour of the United States, performing as soloist with Harold Bauer, Thibaud, and others.
1922
Debuts as a conductor at Carnegie Hall, New York
On 7th April he makes his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, conducting Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and the “Pastoral” Symphony, Brahms’ First Symphony, 1 and Tristan and Isolde’s Prelude and Love Death.
1926
Launch of the Workers’ Concert Association
In May he creates the Associació Obrera de Concerts to bring music closer to the working class.
1927
Beethoven’s centenary death and El Vendrell’s honorary citizen
In March he is invited to play and conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on the occasion of Beethoven’s centenary death. With the Pau Casals Orchestra he organises the Beethoven Festival with Eugène Ysaÿe as conductor. In the summer he continues his tours with the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals.
In July he receives a large-scale tribute in El Vendrell from the members of his orchestra and from his native town, which names him honorary citizen.
1928
Last concert as soloist in the United States
On 26th February he gives his last concert as soloist in the United States, at New York’s Town Hall, with Nicolai Mednikoff at the piano. Pablo Casals’ relationship with Susan Metcalfe grows distant, leading to a definitive separation.
1929
Beginning of the European tour
Pablo Casals begins a new European touring programme, playing in Prague, Bucharest, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, and in December in Budapest, accompanied by Otto Schulhof, for the first time since 1914.
1931
Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed
On 11th March, his mother, Pilar Defilló, dies in Sant Salvador. On 14th April the Second Republic is proclaimed, with which Pablo Casals participates and becomes personally involved as a member of the Junta de Música de Catalunya (Music Board of Catalonia).
1933
Refusal to play in Nazi Germany and the end of the Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals
The Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals disbands, ending a union that had lasted twenty-seven years. He takes part in the Vienna Brahms Festival with Huberman, Schnabel and Hindemith.
He turns down Wilhelm Furtwängler’s invitation to play with the Berlin Philharmonic for the 1934 season because of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, and states his position that he will not play in Germany again as long as “his musical life is not free”.
1934
Honoris Causa doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and adoptive son of Barcelona
Pablo Casals is awarded, together with Albert Schweitzer, an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. The city of Barcelona pays tribute to Pablo Casals, making him an adoptive son, awarding him the Medal of the City and inaugurating the Avinguda de Pau Casals.
1935
Adoptive son and Gold Medal of Madrid
In April, Donald Francis Tovey conducts the second performance of his Cello Concerto in Barcelona. In December he is named adoptive son of Madrid and awarded the Gold Medal of the city.
1936
Beginning of the Spanish Civil War and recordings of the Bach Cello Suites
On 18th July, during a rehearsal with the Pablo Casals Orchestra at the Palau de la Música Catalana, Pablo Casals receives the news of the military uprising. The Pablo Casals Orchestra is dissolved. Pablo Casals continues to tour Europe and South America, giving benefit concerts for food, clothing and medicines.
Between 1936 and 1939 Pablo Casals records Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Cello Suites in London and Paris.
1937
Concerts in Europe and tour of South America
Between April and May he gives several concerts in Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Zurich and Paris. A few days later he begins a two-month tour of South America, where he had not returned since 1904. On 17th November, he records Donald Francis Tovey’s Cello Concerto in C major with the BBC Orchestra, conducted by Adrian Boult.
Appointed Honorary President of the Musicians Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.
1938
Last concert in Barcelona and tour of North Africa
In February he begins a tour of North Africa, passing through Rabat, Casablanca, Oran, Algiers and Tunis. On 19th October he gives his last concert in Catalonia at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona for the benefit of the Children’s Aid Society. At the end of October he plays in Belgium, in November he gives several concerts in Prague, Zagreb, Bucharest, Istanbul and Athens, and in December he plays in Cairo and Alexandria.
1939
Exile in Prades
In January he goes into exile. After a short stay in Paris at Maurice Eisenberg’s house, he goes to Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) where he moves into the Grand Hotel. He begins his campaign to help Spanish refugees.
On 28th March, Casals gives a benefit concert for the children victims of the Spanish Civil War at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
On 12th November he plays the Lalo and Saint-Saëns concertos with the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his debut in the city.
Benefit concert programme for child victims of war at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Pau Casals Collection.
1940
Aid to refugees and victims of World War II
On 13th June the Germans enter Paris. Pablo Casals decides to leave France from Bordeaux aboard the Champlain for America. Just as he was about to embark, the Champlain is bombed by the Germans. He returns to Prades, where he settles with Francesca Capdevila and Joan Alavedra’s family at the Vil·la Colette.
He continues his aid to Spanish refugees and organises benefit concerts for the Red Cross and the French Legion in unoccupied France to help the victims of World War II (Montauban, Toulouse, Montpellier, Grenoble, Béziers, Bordeaux).
1945
Tour of England and musical silence
On 27th June, after the end of the Second World War, he gives a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. At the end of the concert, Pablo Casals transmits a message to Catalonia through the BBC studios.
He decides not to play again in the Allied countries in protest at their immobility in the face of Franco’s regime.
He rejects the honorary doctorates awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
1946-1949
First pupils in Prades
He continues his campaign to help refugees. In May he visits the grave of the poet Frederic Mistral in Maillane.
On 18th July he publishes a letter to the London News Chronicle on the tenth anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, “Why Franco must go”.
On 7th November he is appointed Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour.
At the end of 1946 Pablo Casals accepts his first cello pupil in exile: Bernard Greenhouse. He continues to work on his compositions and teaches new pupils from all over the world, such as Zara Nelsova and Madeline Foley.
1950
Beginning of the Bach Festival
On 2nd June, Alexander Schneider initiates the first Prada Festival, the Bach Festival, in commemoration of the bicentenary of the composer’s death.
Pablo Casals returns to the stage. The Festival Orchestra is created, made up of musicians from all over the world.
1951
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven Festival in Perpignan
In July the second Prada Festival, the Bach, Mozart, Beethoven Festival, is held at the Palace of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan, featuring the pianist Myra Hess. He meets Marta Montañez, who attends the Festival with her uncle Rafael Montañez. In September he conducts two of his compositions in Zurich: La Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels and Els tres reis, part of his composition of El Pessebre. On 30th December he is appointed Master of the Order of the Liberation of Spain by the Spanish Republican Government in exile.
1952
Visit and masterclasses in Zermatt
In the summer the third Prada Festival is held at the Abbey of Sant Miquel de Cuixà.
Pau Casals participa per primera vegada en l’Acadèmia Musical d’Estiu de Zermatt. From that year until 1966, he gives masterclasses in interpretation every year, together with other musicians such as the violinist Sándor Végh, Carl Engel, Willy Hauslein and Emil Hauser.
1955
First visit to Puerto Rico
Francesca Capdevila dies on 18th January. Pablo Casals travels to Catalonia for the first time since his exile, to bury his wife in the cemetery of El Vendrell. After a brief visit to the house of Sant Salvador, he returns to Prades.
On 11th December he makes his first trip to Puerto Rico, accompanied by Marta Montañez. On 17th December he takes part in a tribute to the house where his mother, Pilar Defilló, was born, in Mayagüez.
1956
Launching of the Puerto Rico Casals Festival and tribute at the Sorbonne in Paris
The Festivals Casals Inc. are created thanks to the initiative of Abe Fortas and governor Luis Muñoz Marín, with Pablo Casals as musical director and Alexander Schneider as musical assistant. In the summer he takes part in the Prada Festival and the Zermatt Summer School.
On 10th October, he is honoured at the Sorbonne in Paris on the occasion of his 80th birthday and the 57th anniversary of his debut in Paris. Pablo Casals conducts a group of 102 cellists in a performance of his Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels.
At the end of November he returns to Puerto Rico, accompanied by Marta Montañez, his brother Enric and his wife, and settles in the Santurce neighbourhood in San Juan de Puerto Rico, in a house on Bucaré Street.
1957
First Casals Festival and marriage to Marta Montañez
On 16th April he suffers a heart attack during a rehearsal with the Festival Orchestra at the Theatre of the University of Puerto Rico. The management of the Casals Festival decides to continue the concerts in homage to Pablo Casals, under the direction of Alexander Schneider. On 3rd August, Pablo Casals and Marta Montañez marry in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Paris, 1957. Pau Casals Collection.
First Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Paris
He travels with his wife Marta to Paris, and a few days later they move into a flat next to the Grand Hôtel in Molitg‑les‑Bains, to attend the Prades Festivals. At the end of August they attend the Zermatt Summer Academy.
In October the First Pablo Casals International Cello Competition is held in Paris, chaired by Pablo Casals and with the participation of cellists Barbirolli, Maurice Eisenberg, Gaspar Cassadó, Fournier, and Mstislav Rostropovich, among others, as jurors.
1958
Concert at the United Nations and nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize
In September, together with violinist Sándor Végh and pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski, he takes part in a tribute concert at Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn.
On 24th October, he is invited by UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to give a concert at the General Assembly to commemorate United Nations Day. The concert, together with the “message of peace” that Pablo Casals had recorded a few days earlier in Geneva, was broadcast by radio to more than 40 countries. Pablo Casals is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
1960
Masterclasses in Berkeley, Marlboro and premiere of El Pessebre in Acapulco
In spring arrives in California to conduct a series of masterclasses at the Music Department of the University of Berkeley. In July, he was invited by his friend and pianist Rudolf Serkin to conduct a series of masterclasses at the Marlboro Summer Music School in southern Vermont (USA), which became an annual event from 1962 until 1973.
On 17th December 1960, the oratorio El Pessebre is premiered in Acapulco (Fort of San Diego, Mexico).
1961
Concert at the White House Visit to Japan and Israel
In April Pablo Casals makes a three-week visit to Japan and gives a concert with his pupil Takeichiro Hirai.
In September he visits Israel for the first time, to take part as a juror in the 3rd Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the 3rd Israel Music Festival.
On 13th November Pablo Casals is invited by John Fitzgerald Kennedy to give a concert at the White House accompanied by Alexander Schneider and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.
1962
Beginning of the international tour of the oratorio El Pessebre
On 19th April, with the concert of the oratorio El Pessebre at the Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, he announces his intention to embark on a personal crusade for human dignity, fraternity and peace.
Over the next ten years, Pablo Casals will conduct El Pessebre all over the world.
1963
John Fitzgerald Kennedy awards him the Medal of Freedom
On 16th June he conducts Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall in New York.
In early October Pablo Casals returns to London after eighteen years to conduct El Pessebre. On October 24th, El Pessebre is performed at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with the Casals Festival Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
The President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, awards him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1964
On 15th June, Pablo Casals conducts Haydn’s The Creation at Carnegie Hall in New York. On 10th April, he conducts El Pessebre in Budapest, where he is reunited with his friend and composer Zoltán Kodály. Appointed honorary member of the Vienna Academy of Music.
1966
Named honorary citizen of San Juan de Puerto Rico
On 17th June, he is named honorary citizen of San Juan de Puerto Rico. This is the last year that he attends the Prades Festival and the Zermatt Summer School in summer. In September, Pablo Casals conducts El Pessebre in Sant Miquel de Cuixà.
In December, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he receives numerous public tributes, including the one paid to him by the people of El Vendrell in Molitg-les-Bains (France), and the one in Puerto Rico with a reception in the courtyard of the Fortress, attended by the Vice-President of the United States, Hubert Humphrey.
1967
Conducts El Pessebre at the Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.
On October 21st, he is invited by the United Nations Association to conduct El Pessebre at the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., to commemorate United Nations Day. After the concert, Pablo Casals has an interview with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House.
He receives the Axacan Memorial Award from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in early November and conducts El Pessebre in San Salvador (El Salvador).
1971
Concert and premiere of the Himne a les Nacions Unides
In May, he is invited by the OAS (Organization of American States) to perform a concert at the Pan American Union Building in Washington, D.C.
Receives the Grand Cross of the French National Order of Merit.
On 24 October, he participates in the United Nations Day concert at the General Assembly in New York. He premieres the Himne a les Nacions Unides, and is presented with the Peace Medal by the Secretary-General, U Thant.
1972
Creation of the Foundation
On March 30th, he conducts his Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels and the Himne a les Nacions Unides during a concert at Arizona State University.
In June, together with his wife Marta, he establishes the Pau Casals Foundation, based in El Vendrell.
1973
Last concert in Israel and death in San Juan, Puerto Rico
On 22nd May, he performs a concert commemorating the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
In June, he attends the Casals Festival, held at Carnegie Hall and Central Park in New York. From 16th July to 26th August 1973, he takes part in the 13th Israel Music Festival, where Pablo Casals gives his last concert.
At the end of September, in Puerto Rico, he suffers an irreversible heart attack. On 22nd October he dies at the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan de Puerto Rico, and a few days later he is buried in the San Juan de Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery.
1979
Return of his remains to Catalonia
At the beginning of November, in accordance with Pablo Casals’ wish to be buried in his native land on the day that democracy returned to his country, his remains were transferred to Catalonia, where they rest today in the cemetery of El Vendrell.
