1876-1973. 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. He
wrote instrumental and choral works,
including the Christmas oratorio The Manger.
In 1919 Casals founded the Barcelona
orchestra, which he conducted until leaving
Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil
War in 1936. He was an outspoken critic of
fascism, and a tireless crusader for peace.
In 1956 he moved to Puerto Rico where he
launched the Casals Festival 1957 and toured
extensively in the USA. He married three
times; his first wife was the Portuguese
cellist Guilhermina Suggia.