Pau Casals i Defilló, known in English by his Spanish name Pablo Casals, was a Spanish 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 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.
Casals in 1917 at Carnegie Hall
Fritz Kreisler, Harold Bauer, Walter Damrosch and Casals, at Carnegie Hall on 13 March 1917
A young Pau Casals, by Ramon Casas
Centenary statue, by Josep Viladomat [es], Montserrat
The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso.
Violoncello da spalla
Page from a facsimile of A. M. Bach's manuscript