For Isaac [Stern]
Jaime Laredo
Sharon Robinson
Anna Polonsky
Mayumi Kanagawa
Celia Eliaz
FIMPC - VI
mayo 10, 2026
For Isaac [Stern]
(FIMPC 2025 – VI)
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
6th Concert
Pau Casals Auditorium
Jaime Laredo (violin)
Sharon Robinson (cello)
Anna Polonsky (piano)
Mayumi Kanagawa (violin)
Celia Eliaz (viola)
Pau Casals’ International Music Festival
El Vendrell 2025
Concert Review
An exquisitely beautiful concert, one of those where you feel the music arise, and it takes you to serene happiness through delightful works and players who were transmitting their huge love and deference to the music. The performers, all of them great artists; Laredo and Robinson enjoy great prestige; Polonsky's acting is pure poetry, as the Rutland Herald said of her; and Kanagawa and Eliaz are recognized and respected despite their youth.
Concert program
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904)
Piano, Violin, and Cello Trio in E minor, No. 4, Op. 90 “Dumky”
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856)
Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44
The performers
Jaime Laredo, violin
Sharon Robinson, cello
Anna Polonsky, piano
Mayumi Kanagawa, violin
Celia Eliaz, viola
Jaime Laredo (violin)
Sharon Robinson (cello)
Joseph Kalichstein (piano)
Antonin Dvořák (1841 - 1904)
Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90 “Dumky”
IV - Andante Moderato
Recorded in 1986
Auto-generated by You-Tube
Provided by MenuettoClassics
Shared on YouTube on May 10, 2018
by Joseph Kalichstein Tema
Jaime Laredo
Sharon Robinson
Anna Polonsky
Anna Polonsky (piano)
Bella Hristova (violin)
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Sonata for Violin in D minor No. 3, Op. 108
I - Allegro
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center
Enregistrat per Skillman Music el 25 de març de 2019
Recorded by Skilmman Music on March 26, 2019
Shared on YouTube on May 12, 2020
by Young Concert Artist
Laredo, Robinson, and Polonsky were the performers for the second concert of this festival; on this occasion, they played with:
Mayumi Kanagawa
[Mayumi Kanagawa] “Effortless bless…with her nearly viola-like sound, she transfigured the agitation between genius and madness in Schumann’s Violin Concerto into touching beauty”
Frankfurter Allgemeine
Mayumi Kanagawa
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Sonata for Violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
I - Adagio
II - Fuga. Allegro
III - Siciliana
IV- Presto
Violin Stradivarius 1725 "Wilhelmj"
Live Recording
Nippon Music Foundation
The Association of Public Theaters and Halls in Japan
Ichinoseki Chamber of Culture
Shared on YouTube on
April 30, 2025
by Sasakawa Music Foundation
Mayumi Kanagawa (1994). She has studied with Kolja Blacher (1963), Yoshiko Nakura (1945), Masao Kawasaki (1951), and Robert Lipsett (1947).
In 2024, she won the first prize in the George Enescu International Competition. (George Enescu 1881 – 1959). She also received the prize for the best interpretation performance of an Enescu sonata. She won the silver medal at the Long-Thibaud Crespin Competition (2018), the International Tchaikovsky competition (Moscow 2019), and the Fresh Artist Award offered by Nippon Steel in 2024.
She has performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Mayumi Kanagawa Mayumi Kanagawa’s website explains her participation as an ambassador in the Ribbon Project in Japan, through which musical instruments are provided to children in foster homes. In addition, she participates in the dissemination of musical programs and visits schools around the world.
Since the end of 2023, she has taught at the Hochshule für Künste in Bremen. That same year, she recorded her first CD “Recital” with pianist Giuseppe Guarrera (1991), which garnered great critical acclaim in Japan.
She plays the “Wilhelmj” violin by Antonius Stradivari, made in 1725, and on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.This violin has a label that reads: “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1725”. August Wilhelmj (1845 – 1908) was the owned this violin, hence its name, the Wilhelmj violin. The Nippon Music Foundation acquired it in 2001.
Celia Eliaz, viola
Celia Eliaz (viola) - Mari Kato (piano)
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001
Vivace ma non troppo
Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg
Shared on YouTube on
June 17, 2022
by Celia Eliaz
Celia Eliaz (1997). studied in the “Sistema Nacional de Orquestas y Coros Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela” (El Sistema).(National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela)
Subsequently, she obtained a higher degree in Music from the ESMUC (Catalonia Higher School of Music), and holds a university master‘s degree in viola and chamber music from Mozarteum University in Salzburg.
She has played with the Venezuelan Young Symphony Orchestra and the Venezuelan Children’s Symphony Orquestra, conducted by Sir Simon Ratler (1955), and also with the National Youth Orchestra of Catalonia (JONC).
Celia Eliaz won the second prize at the Francesco Geminiani Competition in Verona (2019), first prize at the P. Hindemith Competition at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, the Gianni Bergamo Classical Music Prize, and the Beija-flor String Quartet in Lugano (Switzerland).
She studied in masterclasses with Domingo Mujica, Adriana Virgüez Cruz, Silvia Simionescu, Thomas Riebl (1956), Alexander Pavlovsky, among others. One of her viola teachers not yet mentioned was Johathan Brown (1974), who has a deep connection with the Pau Casals Festival in El Vendrell, and he was a member of the Casals Quartet between 2002 and 2024.
The title of the concert
The title referred to another of Casals’ friends: Isaac Stern (1920 – 2001).
Casals and Stern
Stern wrote in his memoirs:“The best image that comes to mind to describe Pablo Casals is a wall and a garden. Imagine that you suddenly find yourself in front of a wall and you don’t know that behind it there is a magnificent garden. What Casals did was to open the gate to this garden. When we entered we discovered thousands of colours and smells that we didn’t know existed. He revealed to us what you can achieve once you are inside the garden. To create our own colours and smells using the power of musical imagination is our responsibility.”
Isaac Stern
Reference: Fundació Pau Casals
Isaac Stern (violin)
Marcel Tabuteau (1887 - 1966) (oboe)
Fernando Valenti (1926 - 1990) (harpsichordist)
Prades Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Pablo Casals
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Violin and Oboe Concert in C minor, BWV 1060R
I- Allegro
Live Recording
This recording is part of the compilation entitled
"Prades & Perpignan, 1950 - 1952"
Shared on YouTube.
December 3, 2020
by Isaac Stern Tema
1950 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Some musicians want to celebrate and hope that Pablo Casals will be present at the celebration.
Casals did not want to perform on stage, because with his non-presence on stage, he wished to show his rejection of totalitarianism and of fascism.
Bach was Casals’ favourite composer. He finally agreed to participate in a concert, but in Prades (Prada de Conflent in Catalan), where Casals lived. Schneider was instrumental in securing Casals’ acceptance. Casals arranged with Schneider to include young soloists in the orchestra. The two young soloists were Eugene Istomin (piano) and Isaac Stern (violin). (The second concert of the Pau Casals Festival 2025 in El Vendrell was dedicated to Istomin, the closing concert of the festival was dedicated to Schneider, the sixth festival was dedicated to Stern, and the ninth was dedicated to Rudolf Serkin).
On the website dedicated to Istomin (a great work by Bernard Meillat), we can read how Istomin and Stern formed a strong friendship and how Casals compared Stern to the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, whom Casals greatly admired.
Casals’ vision was right, Stern and Istomin were great musicians, and their professional careers proved it.
One of Stern and Istomin’s dreams was to form a trio with Casals. That dream came true in 1952 at the Pablo Casals Festival in Prada. They performed together:
- 8 Schubert songs from Die schöne Müllerin, with the mezzosoprano Jenie Tourel (1900 – 1973)
- Schumann’s Violin Sonata, Op. 105
- Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 38
- Brahms Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
At the Puerto Rico Festival in 1959 they were scheduled to play together again, but the program had to be changed.
But their real dream was to consolidate themselves as a trio, but this was not possible because Casals did not want to perform outside of Prades; because he wished to continue expressing his rejection of fascism, totalitarianism or dictatorial government, and he express it using the silence of his cello in the great theatres of the world; besides, Casals was 73 in 1950, Istomin 25 and Stern 30.
The influence of Casals on Istomin and Stern was so intense that Istomin declared: “There is no doubt in my mind that an already strongly ingrained chemistry between Stern and myself was enhanced by our collaborations with Casals."
Issac Stern (violin)
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor Eugene Ormandy (1899 - 1985)
Edouard Lalo (1823 - 1892)
Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21
I - Allegro non troppo
II - Scherzando: Allegro molto
III - Intermezzo: Allegro non troppo
IV - Andante
V- Rondo : Allegro
Philadelphia
1956
Shared on YouTube on June 30, 2024
by Classic&Opera
Isaac Stern (1920 - 2001)
[Issac Stern] A Virtuoso in Perpetual Motion
Wall Street Journal
Isaac Stern was born in Kremenets on July 21, 1920. Kremenets is today a city in Ukraine, but in 1918 it was a city of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, in 1920 it was a city of Poland, and in 1922 a city of the U.S.S.R. This demonstrates the instability of the town
Stern’s family was Jewish. His parents, Clara Jaffe and Solomon Stern were both musicians. She had studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The family decided to emigrate to the USA when Isaac Stern was just ten months old.
An exceptional violinist since his childhood
Stern was 6 years old when he started learning piano with his mother, and at age 8, he began to study violin. When he gave his first concert at the age of 9, he demonstrated his high quality.
At age 11, he performed his first recital. He made his debut with an orchestra at the age of 17, performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Monteaux (1875 – 1964), the concertino was Naoum Blinder (1889 – 1965), Stern main violin teacher.
He debuted at New York’s Town Hall at the age of 18 and, finally, on January 8, 1943, he gave his first concert at Carnegie Hall, at the age of 22.
Isaac Stern made his European debut at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland) under the direction of Charles Munch (1891 – 1968) in 1948.
Isaac Stern and the music: a way to cultural rapprochement
Andy Lanset a WNYC he explained on September 19, 2018, that Stern began a tour of the USSR on May 3, 1956, in the midst of the Cold War. In the last ten years, no American artist had visited the USSR. The first concert took place at the Moscow Great Conservatory Hall with the pianist Alexander Zakin (1903 – 1990). Stern subsequently visited Leningrad, Kyiv, Baku, Tbilisi, Eferan, and Moscow again. At each concert, Stern addressed the audience in Russian.
Perform music in China
Stern visited China just a year after China and the United States restarted diplomatic relations. The visit was documented in the film “Mao to Mozart: Issac Stern in China”. It was 1979.
Documental "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China"
Shared on YouTube on January 12, 2025
by padroi
Perform music in Israel
In 1967, a few days after the end of the Six-Day War, Isaac Stern performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on Mount Scopus (Har Ha Tsofin), under the direction of Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990).
A fierce battle was fought on Mount Scopus during that war. From there, Jerusalem can see. In fact, in 66 A.D., the Romans used this mount to witness their attack on Jerusalem. Today, Mount Scopus is home to various cultural, academic, and social institutions.
This documentary was filmed in 1967
It chronicles the visit of
Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein,
the concert they gave,
and the situation in Israel.
The concert can be seen from minute 46 to minute 58;
at minute 60 Mahler’s Second Symphony (Resurrection) begins;
at minute 66, the symphony continues,
but the images show the consequences of the war,
and then it returns to the theatre
to show the final moment of the concert.
Isaac Stern (violin)
Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990) (conductor)
Jennie Tourel (1899 o 1900 - 1973) (Mezzo-soprano)
Netania Davrath (1931 - 1987) (soprano)
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Tel Aviv Philharmonic Choir
Concert program:
Fèlix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection)
Shared on YouTube on February 2, 2022
by Peleg Levy
On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during Yom Kippur. Isaac Stern visited Israel during that conflict and gave concerts in hospitals. Furthermore, Stern and Teddy Kollek (1911 – 2007), then mayor of Jerusalem, founded the Jerusalem Music Center, with the support of the Rothschild Foundation and the Jerusalem Foundation. The ultimate goal of this institution was, and remains, to support young Israeli musicians and offer high-quality concerts in the city.
In 1991, Stern was giving a concert in Jerusalem when the alarm sirens sounded, warning of a missile attack; the following documentary explains what happened.
It was February 23, 1991, during the Gulf War,
Isaac Stern and Zubin Mehta (1936)
with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the
Jerusalem Theater.
They were giving a concert.
They performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3.
Air raid sirens blared.
The music stopped. The musicians left the stage.
The audience began putting on gas masks.
Suddenly, Issac Stern returns to the stage.
And then, he began to interpret
the adagio from Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001.
Shared on YouTube on January 17, 2012
by Laurent Touil-Tartour
Stern was confident that Saddam Hussein would not attack Jerusalem because in the city were Muslim holy sites and a large Palestinian population.
Support for the development of new musical talents
Stern had a genuine interest in providing opportunities for young musicians.
He had an interesting vision about opportunities. In an interview with Bruce Duffie Stern stated that it is necessary to provide opportunities to fail, because without the opportunity to fail, it is not possible to have the opportunity to succeed.
A viewpoint that demonstrates emotional intelligence and knowledge of life; support and the development of resilience are necessary in any project in our lives, whether professional or personal.
Along these lines, Stern developed the Jerusalem International Music Meeting, a four-week course dedicated exclusively to Beethoven, and taught to established musicians.
Isaac Stern as a teacher
Many renowned musicians studied with Stern. For instance: Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Renaud Capuçon...
This recording was made on the
60th anniversary of Stern’s birth.
Itzhak Perlman (1967) and Pinchas Zukerman (1948),
both students of Stern, participated.
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra,
conducted by Zubin Mehta (1936), also participated.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Concerto in D minor for two violins and orchestra, BWV 1043
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)
Concerto in F major for three violins, No. 34
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364.
Recorded in 1981
Shared on YouTube on May 31, 2023
by JK Archives
Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma Quartet
Stern formed a quartet in 1989 with himself, two of his students, Emanuel Ax (1949), Yo-Yo Ma (1955), and Jaime Laredo (1941). All of them were and are renowned soloists. For fifteen years, they performed together on numerous occasions and recorded together a good number of albums.
Jaime Laredo (1941)(violin)
Emanuel Ax (1949) (piano)
Isaac Stern (violin)
Yo-Yo Ma (1955) (cello)
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
I - Allegro molto moderato
Recorded in 1992
Shared on YouTube on September 30, 2015
by Yo-Yo Ma
Istomin–Stern–Rose Trio
This trio was born out of a desire: Istomin and Stern wanted to play together, and in their dreams, the trio was completed with Casals, but that was not possible, as already explained in another paragraph. So, they formed it with another musician: Leonard Rose. The trio worked together for 28 years. They gave more than 200 concerts and recorded 19 albums.
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 - 1827)
Triple Concerto in C Major Op. 36
I- Allegro
Eugene Istomin (1925 - 2003) (piano)
Isaac Stern ( 1920 – 2001) (violin)
Leonard Rose (1918 – 1984) (cello)
Pablo Casals (1876 – 1973) (conductor)
Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, May 31, 1970
Shared on YouTube on March 30, 2018
by Mit Feuer
The trio Istomin-Stern-Rose first performed together in 1955 at the Ravinia Festival. At that time, chamber music was not too highly valued in the United States.
In their opinion, chamber music was as important as the symphonies or the concertos. They played together, but at the same time, each one of them had their own career as soloists.
They were considered the heirs of the Cortot-Thibaud-Casals Trio.
Saving the Carnegie Hall
Everywhere in the world, music enhances a hall, with one exception: Carnegie Hall
Issac Stern
Isaac Stern maintained a very close relationship with Carnegie Hall. From 1943 to 2001. Stern offered more than 200 performances in it. But this connection became more evident due to Stern's intense involvement in saving Carnegie Hall from demolition in 1960.
This link will take you to the History of Carnegie Hall. In the chapter, “A Brief History of Carnegie Hall”, you can download a PDF with the history.
Stern's last activity at Carnegie Hall was on June 9, 2000. It was a three-day workshop. He didn't play; he was the presenter.
On September 22, 2001, Stern died at the age of 81.
Carnegie Hall dedicates the 2019 - 2020 season in honour of Isaac Stern for the centennial of his birth.
This video is a celebration of the
centennial of Isaac Stern’s birth.
Shared on YouTube on July 20, 2020.
by Carnegie Hall
Isaac Stern and the cinema
The first reference is the film “Humoresque”. Stern was an advisor, performed the music, and we can see his arms playing the violin in the early shots. The film tells the story of a violinist. Humoresque is the title of a composition by Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904).
Except from the film Humoresque.
Starring John Garfield (1913 – 1952)
and pianist and composer Oscar Levant (1906 – 1972).
The film was directed by Jean Negulesco (1900 – 1933)
Shared on YouTube on April 22, 2015,
by Daniel Kurganov (Violinista)
As already stated in another paragraph, Casals said that Stern reminded him of Ysaÿe, whom he greatly admired. This was in 1950. Three years later, in 1953, Stern acted in a film as Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931). It was in the film “Tonight We Sing” dedicated to the impresario and music manager Sol Hurok (1888 – 1974).
A clip from the film
"Tonight We Sing,"
in which Stern plays Ysaÿe.
Stern performed accompanied by
pianist Alexander Zarkin,
though Zarkin is not credited.
Shared on YouTube on January 11, 2022
by David Sukonick
In the film Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Stern played the violin solos. (In this film, the orchestration, arrangement, and conducting of the orchestra were done by John Williams.)
Film credits for the film
“Fiddler on the Roof”,
with music performed
by Isaac Stern.
Shared on YouTube on February 14, 2017
by Miguel
In the film “Mr Ripley” (1999), the second movement (Andante Cantabile) in E-Flat major, Op. 16, of Beethoven’s Piano Quintet in version Piano Quartet was used, performed by Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax.
This music was used in the film
“Mr. Ripley” (1999)
Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Piano Quintet in E-Flat major, Op. 16, in version Piano Quartet,
II - Andante Cantabile
Shared on YouTube on January 25, 2017
by Yo-Yo Ma
Awards and recognitions
“From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China” (1979) won the Oscar for best documentary in 1981.
Isaac Stern won 7 Grammy Awards and was nominated 29 times.1961 – Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with Concerto Scale Accompaniment. Béla Bartok (1881 – 1945). Violin Concerto No 1
1962 - Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) Violin Concerto in D
1964 - Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Serguéi Prokófiev (1891 – 1953) Violin Concerto No 1 in D
1970 – Best Chamber Music Performance Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) The Complete Piano Trios
1977 – Best Classical Music Album. Concert of The Century
1981 – Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Isaac Stern 60th Anniversary Celebration
1991 – Best Chamber Music Performance Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Piano Quartets (Op. 25 & 26)
In 1991, Stern was awarded the National Medal of Arts Recipient.
In 1992, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, granted during the presidency (1989 – 1993) of George H. W. Busch (1924 – 2018).
On the Isaac Stern website we can see that he was awarded Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur (France) in 1990.
Among other accolades, the Kennedy Center website explains that Stern received the Albert Schweitzer Music Award in 1976 "for a life dedicated to music and devoted to humanity". Furthermore, in 1984 the Kennedy Center honored him at a ceremony held in the East Wing of the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. One of Stern's well-known phrases, so much so that Reagan quoted it at the awards ceremony, is "I got my break because of the faith and belief private people showed in my work", which makes his support for new young musical talent even more understandable.
in Israel, in 1987,Stern also received the Wolf Award.
: “for his everlasting humanistic contribution to society as an artist and educator, which transcends the boundaries of musical performance”. In 1997, the Government of Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, for his passion to provide education to younger generations.
In 2000, he received the Polar Music Prize from Sweden for Stern’s commitment to the education of new generations. They especially highlighted Stern’s attitude towards the humanist power of music.
He holds an honorary doctorate from Harvard University. He has also been honored by the Juilliard School, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Johns Hopkins University, Oxford University, and Tel Aviv University, among others.
Isaac Stern’s violins
- “Kreuse-Vormbaum” Stradivarius de 1728
(Antonio Stradivari, 1644 – 1737)
- “Ex-Stern” Bergonzi de 1733
(Carlo Bergonzi, 1683 - 1747)
- “Panette” Guarneri del Gesù de 1737
(Giuseppe Guarniere del Gesù, 1698 – 1744)
Today Renaud Capuçon (1976) plays this violin
Violin "Stern, ex Panette" by Guarnieri del Gesù de 1737
On the Tarisio website we can read
that this violin was sold by
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in 1847.
The violin was in París until1920. It was bought in 1944
by Isaac Stern
who paid $65,000 for it;
almost 50 years later, Stern
sold it to the collector David Fulton.
On this same website, we can read an interview with
Renaud Capuçon, who said about this violin:
" I have all the recordings, all the pictures;
there is one with Pablo Casals
smoking his cigar with
this violin by his side”.
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1787)
Melody (Orfeo ed Euridice) Wq.30
Arrangement for violin and piano by Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962)
Renaud Capuçon (1976) violin
Jerome Ducros(1974) piano
Shared on YouTube. May 12, 2009
by stanlefo
- Michele Angelo Bergonzi (1739 -1757)
- Giovanni Guardagnini 1754
Guardagnini ( 1711 - 1786)
- “Ex-Nicolas I” or “Tsar Nicholas”
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
This violin was commissioned in 1840 by Prince and composer Alexei Lvov (1799 – 1870)
(Font: Ingles&Hayday)
- “Vuillame de Stern” 1850.
This violin is a copy of a Panette (Guarneri del Gesù). It has a label that reads: “Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris, and the number 1774.
This violin was part of a quartet that Villaume built for his son-in-law, the violist Delphin Alarad (1815 – 1888)
- “Stern”
A 1994 copy of the Guarneri violin
made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz(1956)
(
Link to Tarisio website , where we can read about the violins and bows sold in 2003 that were owned by Isaac Stern.
From 1965 to 1998, Stern was the owner of the violin
“Ysaÿe Guarnerius” de Guarneri del Gesù 1740.
This violin had belonged to Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1931).
Ysaÿe placed a label on the violin. The label reads: ‘Ce del Gesù fut le fidéle compagnone de ma vie – Eugène Ysaÿe 1928’ (This del Gesù was the faithful companion of my life)
Stern placed another label almost next to Ysaÿe’s label; Stern’s label reads: “La mienne aussi” (Mine too)
This violin currently belongs to the Nippon Music Foundation. Sergey Khachatryan played it from 2010 to 2022, recording all six sonatas, Op. 27, by Eugène Ysaÿe.
Mozart, Stern’s home
"Mozart’s music is like an X-ray of your soul
– it shows what is there and what is not"
Isaac Stern
This quote from Stern appears on numerous occasions, and his opinion was well known. Therefore, the review written by Bernard Gavoty (Claredon) in Le Figaró, titled “Stern chez Mozart” (Stern at Mozart’s House), on January 29, 1973, is not surprising. The day before, Stern had given a concert performing two Mozart concertos. One of them was the Violin Concerto No. 3, the work that Stern performed most frequently. Moreover. It was the first Mozart work he recorded, in 1950
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K 216
I - Alegro
II - Adagio
III - Rondo: Allegro
Isaac Stern (violí)
Columbia Chamber Orchestra conductor Isaac Stern
Nova York, 1950
This is an interesting document,
because Stern didn't like being both
conductor and soloist at the same time.
But in this case,
he is doing both
Shared on YouTube. May 6, 2022
byClassic &Opera.
María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona
Alexander Melnikov - Jean-Guihen Queyras
The last Beethoven and the young Rachmaninov
(FIMPC 2025 – V)
Tuesday
July, 15
Fifth Concert
Pau Casals Auditorium
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov
Pau Casals Internactional Music Festival
Concert Review
Sometimes we need a few words to express the experience of listening to a concert that allows you to feel that nothing bad exists in the world, in that moment, only the music, only a perfect and balanced space and time. This was one of those moments.
The concert was vibrant, the performance brilliant, and the feeling of experiencing ethereal moments was especially enhanced by the ideal pianissimos.
Concert Program
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Sonata for Piano and Cello in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1
Sonata for Piano and Cello in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19
Encores:Debussy and Chopin
The performers
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Alexander Melnikov, piano
Jean-Guihen Queyras y Alexander Melnikov
Ludwig van Beethoven
Variaciones Judas Macabeu de
Cello Biennale Amsterdam, 2015
Compartido en YouTube - 17 de marzo de 2015
Jean-Guihen Queyras
[Jean-Guihen – Queyras], is characterized by insatiable curiosity,
diversity and a firm focus on the music itself.
Interlude
Jean-Guihen Queyras (1967) was born in Montreal (Canada). He studied with Claire Rabier and Reine Flachot (1922 - 1998) and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de danse de Lyon.
In addition, he studied chamber music with Alain Meunier (1942) and later with Christoph Henkol (1946) and Tim Eddy [1] who was a student of Bernard Greenhouse (1916-2011), who in turn was a student of Pau Casals.
[1]Tim Eddy won the Gaspar Cassado International Cello Prize in Florence, Italy, in 1975, receiving the highest distinction. He also performed several times at the Marlboro Festival. In addition, he attended masterclasses with Pablo Casals. Eddy comments on Casals:
Casals’ playing was built around speaking with the cello, and speaking with the greatest candor from a gut level. He was more interested in soulful playing than in prettiness, though there was incredible refinement and finesse in his own playing. His playing was so gutsy, direct, and simple that when I watched him play my reaction was “How could it be done any other way?” His technical means fit the musical end perfectly.
From: Conversation with Timothy Eddy (July, 2001) .
Queyras maintained a long collaboration with Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016), especially as a soloist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain a group created and directed by Boulez.
Critics say that Queyras is an eclectic musician. He has collaborated with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and also with the Akademie fur Alte Musik in Berlin. He has performed music ranging from Baroque to contemporary. For example, he premiered works by Ivan Fedele (1953), Gilbert Amy (1936), Bruno Mantovani (1974), Michael Jarrell (1958), Johannes Maria Staud (1974), Thomas Larcher (1963), Tristan Murail (1947) or Péter Eötvös (1944 – 2024).
He is a founding member of the Arcanto Quartett and is part of the Faust-Queyras-Melnikov Trio; with violinist Isabelle Faust (1972) and pianist Aleksandr Melnikov (1973).
Queyras has performed as a soloist with the Danish National Orchestra, the Paris Chamber Orchestra, and the Mozarteum Orchestra, among others. He has performed in Taipei (Taiwan), New York, Buenos Aires, London, Riga, and Prague, to name just a few.
Jean-Guihen Queyras
Freiburger Barockorchester
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Robert Schumann
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
DW Classical Music
Shared on YouTube -October 3, 2020
Jean-Guihen Queyras is a professor at the Freiburg University of Music and director of the Festival Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence.
In 2008, he was voted “Artist of the Year” by Diapason readers. That same year, he won the Victories de la Musique Classique award for Best Instrumental Soloist. This latter award recognizes the recipient’s excellence, creativity, and virtuosity
In 2024, Queyras performed with the Kyiv Camerata and visited a hospital (Recovery Ukraine) treating soldiers wounded in the Russian invasion. He also visited a clinic for children with trauma caused by the same event. In 2025, after Zelensky's first visit to Trump and seeing how Trump disparaged the Ukrainian president, Queyras donated all the money earned from his five US concerts to UNITED24,a Ukrainian organization and an official Ukrainian government platform for raising funds to aid Ukraine..
Queyras' cello
Queyras plays the Kaiser Stradivarius (Cremona, 1707), on loan from Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Quebec.
Jean-Guihen Queyras at the "Casa Stradivari"
The text accompanying the video explains that the Kaiser cello,
built by Stradivarius, had returned to the city of its birth.
Queyras was in Cremona to give a masterclass organized
by the Casa Stradivari Foundation.
Eleven students from various countries participated in the masterclass.
In the afternoon, the closing ceremony was held in the Sala Mafei.
All of this was part of an event that combined
music and the art of instrument making at the
start of the new school year.
Source: Quotidiano La Provincia di Cremona
Shared on YouTube - November 14, 2025
The website Tarisio offers information on great luthiers and this magnificent instrument throughout the centuries, as well as on the performers who played it. Tarisio has over 36.000 entries in open access. There may be information about the Kaiser cello on restricted pages, not open to the public. Likewise, other searches carried out in other possible sources have also yielded no results. Therefore, I cannot provide information about the owners and performers who were previously associated with this cello.
The relationship between performer and composer in Queyras's opinion
For Jean-Guihen Queyras, falling in love with the world of composers is essential.
To love Bach and admire Casals
Queyras loves both Bach and Casals; there is a deep and invisible connection between them.
In an interview with the newspaper El País, he said, regarding a blind audition of the slow movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 5, performed by Pau Casals:
"...no cellist has captured the essence of the human being in each note like him. That's why it goes straight to your heart, like when someone hugs you, and you don't need to speak..."
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
IV - Allegro Mosso
Auto-generated YouTube
Provided por PIAS - May 5, 2022
Alexander Melnikov
Alexander Mélnikov (1973) was born in Moscow. He was a student of Lev Naumov (1925-2005) at the Moscow Conservatory, where he graduated. He also studied with Elisso Wirssaladze (1942) in Munich.
He won the Robert Schumann International Award in Zwicky (1989) and the Elisabeth International Award of Belgium in Brussels in 1991.
He possesses a wide repertoire, ranging from historically informed performances to works by Shostakovich, no forgetting Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff...
Alexander Melnikov
Freiburger Barockorchester
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
DW Classical Music
Shared on YouTube - September 12, 2020
Melnikov performs regularly with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Musica Aeterna, and Akademie fur Alt Musik Berlin. He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Gewandhauserorchester de Leipzig, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the BBC Philharmonic, among others.
With Queyras, he recorded Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano.
Melnikov had recorded 51 CDs up to that point. He won the BBC Music Magazine Award for his performance of Shostakovich's Prelude and Fugue
The concert works
The context in which the sonatas were written
It is said that Beethoven's two sonatas were written with their intended performer in mind: Joseph Linke (1783–1837). As for their dedication, the second edition (1819) lists Countess Maria von Erdödy (1778–1837), one of Beethoven's patrons. Interestingly, Linke was the tutor of the Countess' children.
Maria von Erdödy and Beethoven felt mutual admiration. Perhaps for this reason, some say that these sonatas were written out of the great esteem Beethoven felt for her.
In the program notes for the Beethoven Cello and Piano Sonata Cycle, (February 1981 - March Foundation), Enrique Franco and Cecilio Roda reproduce a fragment from an 1815 letter that Beethoven wrote to Countess von Erdödy in which he says: "We, finite beings who possess an infinite spirit, were born for pain and joy; And one could almost say that the chosen ones find joy through pain.”
This reflection can be understood even better by reading Georg Predota's article in Interlude (November 18, 1915), in which he explains that Beethoven had been suffering from illness and anxiety since 1812; Moreover, his deafness was becoming increasingly evident. It was a period in which financial problems also arose. Furthermore, his brother died in 1815, and Beethoven became embroiled in a long legal battle to obtain custody of his nephew Carl; and once he won, his nephew attempted suicide, something the composer could never understand. Adding to all this, he lost contact with the Countess, although they were able to re-establish it in 1815, as the letter testifies.
The same letter explains that the Countess had traveled to Jedlersee to try to improve her health condition. Illness was another aspect that the Countess and Beethoven had in common.
Even more, in an article by Emily E. Hogstad published on December 4, 2025, in Interlude, it is explained that the Countess was almost immobile due to a health crisis she suffered after her first childbirth.
She could barely walk. The music for her was a balm, especially Beethoven's music.
Hogtad also explains the significant role Countess von Erdödy played in Beethoven's professional life. A factor described even more extensively by Jan Hendrik Neumann in Jérôme (February 9, 2019). Beethoven was on the verge of accepting the position of Kapellmeister in Kassel, at the court of Jérôme Bonaporte (1784–1860), who had been appointed King of Westphalia (1807–1813) by his brother Napoleon. Upon learning of this, the Countess and Baron Ignaz Gleichauf von Gleichestein gathered a group of nobles and aristocrats to guarantee Beethoven a pension that would prevent him from leaving Vienna. to Kassel. They offered him a pension of 4,000 florins a year. Beethoven stayed, but problems soon arose: war broke out, inflation skyrocketed, and of all those committed to his cause, only Archduke Rudolf maintained the stipend, with a little over 1,300 florins a year.
Unconventional sonatas
The works possess characteristics that make them groundbreaking in relation to the ideas of the time, because they are very different from the traditional approaches of that era. Both the public and critics were baffled by these works, and yet, for the Romantic generation, they were considered fascinating.
In the urtext edition of the Sonata in C major, Op. 102 No. 1, published by G. Henle Verlag, a review from 1818 is quoted as saying: “Without a doubt [the sonatas] are among the most unusual and peculiar things written in a long time” The sonatas date from 1815, and the first edition is from 1817.
The term “urtext” means that the edition is based on original sources without later additions or alterations.
In this type of edition, the aim is to be as faithful as possible to what the author wrote.
Therefore, they use the authors' manuscripts and first editions.
If they reach a point where they must make a choice in order to edit the works, this choice is justified with a report. For this reason, this type of edition is sometimes called a “historical-critical edition.”
In this case, the edition is by Jens Dufner (1971), the piano fingering is by Ian Fountain (1971), and the cello fingering and bowing are by David Geringas (1946).
The peculiarities of the Sonata in C major Op. 102, no. 1
Beethoven wrote the text “Freie Sonate” on it, which means "free sonata".
It has been debated whether it was written in two movements instead of the usual four, or whether the movements should be performed without distinction.
In the concert by Queyras and Melnikov, it was structured in two movements: I Andante – II Allegro vivace
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
I - Allegro con brio
Auto-generated YouTube
Provided by Harmonia Mundi - November 19, 2017
Cello and Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninoff dedicated this work to Anatoliy Bradukov (1856–1930), who premiered it with the composer in Moscow in December 1901.
Rachmaninoff wrote this sonata after suffering a nervous breakdown caused by the rejection and harsh criticism of his first symphony, which premiered in 1897.It was a work that also transgressed conventional concepts. Rachmaninoff was 24 years old.
He titled it Sonata for Piano and Cello, probably because both instruments have equal prominence. It was published under that title in 1902.
On the label's record release Hyperion dedicated to this sonata, an edition made by Steven Isserlis (1958), cello and Sir Stephen Hough (1961), piano, it is written that it is a work that owes its sound to the influence of Russian church music.
In another edition, this one from Deutsche Grammophon, it is described as a monumental sonata, as demanding and prominent for the piano as for the cello. (This is a recording by Yuja Wang and Gautier Capuçon).
The title of the concert
Beethoven, when he composed these sonatas, was 45 years old and would die at 56, while Rachmaninoff, as mentioned earlier, was 24 when he composed his sonata. The sonatas were the beginning of the final stage of a composer's career (Beethoven) and the consolidation of recognition for a still young composer who had already tasted failure (Rachmaninoff).
Other similarities between the sonatas of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff
Furthermore, these sonatas share other similarities because they broke the theoretical boundaries of the sonata form. They are works that challenged preconceived notions of what a sonata should be. (In reality, creative force tends to overflow established frameworks.)
María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona
Matteo Imbruno greeting the audience at the end of the concert
Screenshot from the concert video
Concert in the Church of El Vendrell
(FIMPC2025 - IV)
Monday, July 14, 2025
Fourth concert
The title of the concert:
Bach and the Europe of his time
A thought-provoking title for a post that attempts to explain what that era was like for music and try to place it in its historical context.
This post will be published as the final installment of the chronicles of the 2025 concerts of the Pau Casals International Music Festival of El Vendrell.
This future post will also include references to the composers featured in the concert program.
The performer
Matteo Imbruno (1964), was born in Pietramontecorvino, Italy. He studied organ with Liuwe Tammainga (1953–2021) in Bologna, with Bernard Winsemius (1945) in Rotterdam, and with Martin Haselböck (1954) in Lübeck.
He is resident organist at the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam, and also at the Oude Kerk in the same city, where he holds the same position as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621), who was considered the most outstanding composer, organist, and pedagogue in the Netherlands of his time, to the point of being called "the Orpheus of Amsterdam" in recognition of the importance of his work in the development of music in his country during the early Baroque period.
Matteo Imbruno has made recordings on historic organs in the Netherlands and Italy. His collaboration with Gustav Leonhardt (1928–2012) in performing recitals with two organs is also well known.
Imbruno gives masterclasses all over the world and is the artistic director of the "Jan Pieterszoon Sweelink International Organ Competition" and of the Fondazione Accademia di Musica Italiana per Organo in Pistoia, Italy.
A few days after his concert in El Vendrell, he gave a masterclass at the Montserrat Monastery,within the VI Organ Course taught by Juan de la Rubia.
Concert Program
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Pablo Bruna (1611 - 1679)
Tiento de primer tono de mano derecha y al medio a dos tiples
Alexandro Marcello (1684 - 1750)
Concerto for Oboe in D minor (transcription of J.S. Bach)
Georg Böhm (1661 - 1733)
Our Father who art in heaven
Nicolaus Bruhns (1665 - 1697)
Prelude in E minor
Marin Marais (1656 - 1728)
Chaconne pour les Tritons
The Organ of the Parish Church of El Vendrell
and the Casals Family
There is a direct connection between Pau Casals and the organ of El Vendrell.
On the one hand, his father was called to El Vendrell to address the organ's technical needs. He stayed to live in the town and was appointed organist and choirmaster.
On the other hand, Pau Casals was involved in the organ's renovation, preventing its Baroque origins from being altered to a more Romantic style, which was the restorer's proposal; he also contributed financially to the restoration.
Furthermore, Pau Casals also played music on this organ as a child.
Video of the complete concert
Concert held on July 14, 2025
Shared on YouTube by l'Orgue del Vendrell
The concert organizers
The concert was organized by the Pau Casals Foundation and the l'Orgue del Vendrell association. The latter offers a monthly organ concert to promote the organ's magnificent cultural heritage. Other public and private institutions also participated as collaborators or sponsors, including the Vendrell City Council, the Pau Casals Auditorium, and the Pau Casals International Music Festival of Vendrell.
María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona
David Dixon
Doves of Peace
Albert Bridge House - Manchester Central Convention Complex
July 14, 2018
Ir a versión en castellano
Anar a la versió en català
Pablo Casals said that music was the divine path to say beautiful and poetic things to the heart.
So let's listen to music, play music, and spread music, to help these beautiful and poetic things reach every corner of the world. Let it be a plea for peace, for living in harmony. And may music develop in us the capacity to coexist and to respect all living beings.
The music chosen to celebrate these holidays is El Pessebre, the oratorio composed by Pablo Casals.
(An oratorio is a composition for orchestra, chorus, and soloists, which, despite its length and the fact that it tells a story, was created as a concert piece, not to be staged.).
Pau Casals
Oratorio El Pessebre
1943 - 1946
Poema de Joan Alavedra
Se estreno en Acapulco, México, el 17 de diciembre de 1960
Compartido en YouTube por Roberto Jo
En fecha 14 de enero de 2016
María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona
Xmas 2025
Guitars Ensemble
Pau Casals Municipal School of Music in El Vendrell
Photo: Sílvia Isach (@sinoca_studio)
They are the protagonists of the
third concert of the Pau Casals International Music Festival
(FIMPC2025 - III)
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Third concert
Tivoli Auditorium
Pau Casals Municipal School of Music (EMMPAC))
Long live chamber music!
Concert by EMMPAC students, remembering Pablo Casals and his friends.
With the participation of Jaime Laredo
Concert program and performers
- Guitars Ensemble
Old Spanish songs,
collected by
Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
Nana de Sevilla, popular
(Lullaby from Seville)
(arr. Adrià Galindo)
Los cuatro muleros, popular
(The four muleteers)
(arr. Maria Elena Casañas)
Las morillas de Jaén, popular
(The morels of Jaén)
(arr. Àngel Agulló)
La tarara, popular
(The Tarara)
(arr. Jorge Cardoso)
Enrique Granados (1867 - 1916)
Danza española núm. 6
Rondalla aragonesa
(Spanish Dance No. 6)
(Aragonese Rondalla)
(Arr. Enrique Lop)
![]() | |
| Federico García Lorca Granada, February 10, 1919 Photographer: unknown Federico García Lorca Foundation Collection Public domain |
The Pau Casals Music Association celebrates Casals Month every October in El Vendrell. In 2018, a study by philologist Jaume Figueras was presented, analyzing whether Casals and García Lorca ever met.
Jaume Figueras suggested that they may have met at a tribute event held on October 23, 1935 at the Olympia Theatre, dedicated to actress and theatre director Margarida Xirgu (1888 - 1969). His hypothesis includes a letter from Casals to Xirgu. That letter might contain a passage that refers to the poet, but without mentioning his name.
Casals and Lorca shared a similar goal: to make it easier for the working classes to discover and enjoy classic theater (Lorca) through his theater group "La Barraca" and classical music (Casals) through the Workers' Concert Association. This was a point emphasized by Figueras.
But there is a document that allows us to confirm that they met. It was provided by historian and cultural expert Àngels Santacana, at the presentation of the Casals Month, where she stated that there is a photograph taken in Uruguay in which Lorca and Casals appear.
Enrique Granados Campiña (1867 – 1916)
![]() | |
| Enrique Granados Campiña May 3, 1914 Photo by: Agence de presse Meurisse Bibliotheque Nationale de France Public domain |
Casals and Granados met in 1891. Casals was fifteen years old and Granados was twenty-four. Despite the age difference, they became great friends. A few years later, in 1897, they, along with violinist Mathieu Crickboom (1871–1947), toured Spain.
For Casals, Granados's death was a terrible blow. Their friendship was sincere; moreover, as Pablo L. Rodríguez published in El País, in the article entitled "The tragic final embrace of Enrique Granados and his wife" (published March 27, 2016), Casals was the person who gave Granados the most support among all Spaniards (Rodríguez uses the word "national," but given the use that word was given later during the Spanish Civil War, its use could create a misunderstanding).
Casals visited Granados in New York where the composer was preparing for the premiere of his opera Goyescas.They both gave a concert for the Friends of Music of New York on January 23, 1916. and Goyescas premiered on January 28, 1916. Granados and his wife Amparo Gal Lloberas (1870 - 1916) [1] had planned to return to Europe on March 8th, but they postponed the trip, so that Granados could perfom at the White House for Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924).
Amparo Gal was the manager of her husband's musical schedule; she was his support in all aspects, both emotional and practical.
Granados and his wife returned to Europe, stopping in London, from where they boarded the steamship Sussex to reach France. It was a passenger ship that was to take them to Dieppe, but during the voyage it was torpedoed in the English Channel by the German submarine UB-29 at 2:50 p.m. on March 24, 1916.
The torpedo impact created a large wave that swept some of the passengers into the sea. Fifty people died from the impact, the wave, and those who jumped into the sea in panic. The rest of the passengers survived because part of the ship did not sink. A section of the stern remained afloat because it was watertight, but it drifted for 32 kilometers. They were eventually spotted by a fishing boat, and a rescue operation began. Three hundred and thirty people were saved. The unsunk portion of the ship was towed to Boulogne. The German government denied the events, but the remains of the torpedo and the testimonies of the travelers forced them to rectify, although they excused themselves by saying that it had been a mistake by the submarine commander. The incident was so significant that it led to the Sussex Pledge. With it, the Germans declared they would not attack non-military ships. But in practice, it was not honored. (Link to the official report on the attack. U.S. State Department.
Although there are photos of the unsunken remains of the Sussex, this drawing by James McBey (1883 - 1959) is probably the most emotionally impactful. The print can be found on the website of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (London)
United Press International correspondent John H. Hearley reported on the events.
(Link to a photograph taken on the ship after it was torpedoed.)
(Link to the Hearley's chronicle)
A concert to help the children of Enrique Granados
Granados died alongside his wife, Amparo Gal. They had six children who were left orphaned. By one of those strange coincidences of life, Arthur Rubinstein (1887 - 1982) performed Goyescas at the Palau de la Música Catalana on the same day that Enrique Granados and Amparo Gal died; their children attended the concert; they had not yet received the news of their parents' death.
On May 7, 1916, a concert was held at the Metropolitan Opera House to benefit the orphans of Granados. The concert featured Pablo Casals, the soprano María Barrientos (1894–1946), Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962), and Ignacy Paderewski (1860–1941).
Furthermore, to raise more funds, Paderewski's wife, Helena M. Paderewska, donated 100 dolls. These dolls were made by Polish refugees for a project Paderewska was undertaking to raise funds to help her country, Poland, and its people. However, she felt that helping Granados's children was a cause that deserved this extra contribution. Paderewska herself, along with Susan Metcalf (1878-1959), who was Casals's wife at the time, and Harriet Lies (1869-1963), Kreisler's wife, sold the dolls at the theater entrance.
Helena Pederewska (1856–1934) was of Polish origin. In addition to the Doll project already described, which is documented at least as far back as 1914, she also founded the Polish White Cross with the help of Polish emigrants in the United States. She also recruited 20,000 volunteers to assist refugees during World War I. After the war, she continued her work and, among other achievements, secured funding for the training of doctors and nurses and founded the School of Agriculture in northeastern Poland. She also welcomed exiles into her home in Switzerland.
Photograph of dolls made by Polish refugees in Paris
The dolls were sold to benefit the Polish War Victims Relief Fund
Dated 1915
Author: Bain News Service
Public domain
Walter Aaron Clark in his article The Death of Enrique Granados: Context and Controversy (Musical Yearbook no. 65, January - December 2010) explains how the tribute concert to Granados ended: All the lights were off, there was a candle on the piano, with that only illumination Pederewski played the Funeral March by Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1835), while the public remained silent.
The tragic death of Granados deeply affected Casals. When Albert E. Kahn recorded his statements, which would later be published as the book "Joys and Sorrows: Reflections by Pablo Casals," he spoke of this loss and said: "This tragic event symbolized for me the waste and madness of the war." The book was published in 1970 by Simon & Schuster.
![]() |
| Enrique Granados playing the piano Sculpture by Ismael Smith (1886-1972) Work from 1908 Museu Pau Casals Photo: María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) |
Besides being friends, Casals and Granados collaborated musically. In the book "Enrique Granados in Context / Enrique Granados en contexto" (LEAL Cultural Association, 2020), there is a chapter titled: "Enrique Granados and Pau Casals: A Long Friendship and the Construction of a Cello Repertoire." The article is written by musicologist Xoán M. Carreria (1954) and music communicator Josep M. Rebés (1955).
Likewise, the exhibition "Counterpoint: Enrique Granados - Pau Casals" explored the friendship and musical relationship between the two. The following quote is from that exhibition:
"This premature death would signify the earthly end and the spiritual continuation of a friendship in the form of counterpoint, which once again makes the figures of Granados and Casals exceptional."
The exhibition was displayed at the Museu Pau Casals from December 2, 2004 to January 23, 2005, and subsequently toured various towns in Catalonia.
Video about the exhibition “Counterpoint: Enrique Granados – Pau Casals”
with numerous photographs of both
Pau Casals Foundation
Video production: Linus Urpí
Music: Enrique Granados. Goyescas, H. 71 Intermezzo
(Arr. Gaspar Cassadó (1897 - 1966) for cello and piano)
April 19, 2021
Casals' relationships with the other composers in the concert program
Gabriel Fauré (1845- 1924)
There is a photograph that shows Fauré and the Casals-Cortot-Thibaud trio; it was taken at the Ecole Normale de Musique after a rehearsal. The trio performed for Fauré the Trio Op. 120, which would be the composer's penultimate work. Once again, we find sources that speak of a sincere friendship between Casals and Fauré. Furthermore, Casals made a cello arrangement of Fauré's work "Après un Rêve."
Gabriel Fauré: Après un revê
Pau Casals, cello - Nikolai Mednikoff, piano
1927
Shared on YouTube by Classics&Opera
March 20, 2023
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
We have no evidence to suggest that Casals was familiar with the other composers on the concert program. However, we do know that he recorded works by Tchaikovsky.
The venue for the third concert of FIMPC 2025: The Pau Casals Municipal School of Music
The vocation to train young musicians and to offer the opportunity to learn music to people of all ages.
The school is the fruit of Vendrell's vital energy towards music and culture in general, and above all it is an achievement of the people who fought tirelessly to see that project become a reality.
The school is a municipal public center. It began classes on February 3, 1986. To make its existence possible, an agreement was established with the Generalitat of Catalonia and support was also obtained from the Social Welfare Fund of the Provincial Savings Bank of Tarragona.
Facade of the first headquarters of the EMMPAC del Vendrell on Isidre Ribes street
There was never any doubt that the school should be named after Pau Casals. Furthermore, the project was one of the goals set by the Pau Casals Musical Association, which was presided over by Josep Altet Font (1920-2003) (UN Medal, Creu de Sant Jordi, 1999 from the Generalitat of Catalonia, and Favorite Son of El Vendrell, 2010).
The school's first location was on Isidre Ribes Street. It was a 300 m² building that accommodated up to 300 students. It was so successful, and there was such high demand for places, that it became necessary to find a new, larger location. The school's first teachers were Albert Solé, who was the first director; Carlota Baldrís, who became director a few years later; Margarita Güell (violin); and Andreu Guash Padró (piano).
Visit of Marta Casals Istomin and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1927 - 2007) to the EMMPAC
The photograph shows the meeting with the Cor de Veus Blanques (White Voices Choir), which was going to perform, directed by Montse Meneses, at the funeral events of Eugene Istomin on October 16, 2003, in the Vendrell cemetery.
Photo: Carlota Baldrís
From cinema to school
The current building houses a classroom and activity area, the Tivoli Auditorium (capacity 333 people), the Cohi i Grau Auditorium [1] (capacity 120 people), a multipurpose room (capacity 60 people), and a library. All of this is contained within the same building. This building was constructed on the site of a former center called Tivoli, which offered cultural and recreational activities, a bar, and served as the headquarters of the Vendrell Sports Club. However, it is still best remembered for its cinema.
[1] Agustí Cohi Grau (1921 - 2012) Son of Vendrell, composer, musician and educator; creator of the Cohi Grau scholarship, which since 2005 has been awarded to a student or group from EMMPAC
The Tivoli (as the aforementioned activity center was always known) began its activities in 1876 and ceased operations in the 1990s. Negotiations for its acquisition began in 2002. The following year it became the property of the City Council. Classes were able to be held in the new building during the 2009-2010 academic year.
The official opening took place on June 21, 2010, with a performance by the cellist and Casal's godson Lluís Claret (1951), the singer Marina Rosell (1954), and the Zóngora choir, which originated at the school. The event was presided over by Ernest Mararagall, then Counselor of Education for the Generalitat of Catalonia. At that time, the school had 345 students and 23 teachers.
Facade of the current EMMPAC headquarters
Photo: Linus Urpí
EMMPAC is one of the cultural driving forces of Vendrell and the Baix Penedès region
To celebrate EMMPAC's 30th anniversary, the cantata "The Magic Ring," composed by Albert Solé, premiered. Two hundred singers, fifty musicians (including students and teachers), three soloists, and the dancers from the school's dance studio participated. Montse Meneses conducted the cantata. Meneses studied at EMMPAC, and later at the Conservatories of Tarragona, Badalona, and Barcelona. Today she is the director of the Cor de Noies del Orfeó Català (girls' choir), the Veus Blanques choir (children's voices), the Zóngora choir, and the Coral Cantiga of Barcelona.
A new cantata premiered to mark the 40th anniversary. This time, the text was by Xavier Sanjuan and the music by Jordi Cornudella. The work was titled "Everything is Music". It premiered in June 2022 and was recorded by Radio Televisión of El Vendrell.
Tívoli Auditorium
Photo: Linus Urpí
TheEMMPAC continues its activities. Its goal is to offer new and better opportunities to those who want to learn music, with a high level of quality, but always respecting the values championed by Pau Casals. Casals's idea that music is the divine way of expressing beautiful and poetic things to the heart is ever-present.
The current director of the school is Emi Recasens Collado, the head of studies is Xavi Font Rius and it has a human team that offers vocal, instrumental and dance training.
Names indelibly linked to EMMPAC
Albert Solé and Carlota Baldrís are two people whose life story is deeply linked to the music school; both were once its directors.
Albert Solé was honored for his lifetime dedication to music and to El Vendrell. And yet, music was never his profession, despite having a degree in piano, being an excellent pianist, choir director, and composer.
Carlota Baldrís, She is a composer, music theory and harmony teacher, and has been a professor at EMMPAC since 1986, where she also served as director from 1998 to 2010.
She is passionate about music and its role in intellectual and emotional development, as well as its impact on our brains. For this reason, she has offered several seminars on these topics at the Museu Pau Casals in recent years. For this, she has collaborated with specialists such as Jordi Jauset and Eduard Ramos
A tireless composer, she is the author of works such as "Song of the Star" (Canço de l'Estrella), a work in which she set to music a text by Jacint Verdaguer (1845 - 1902). Another example is the Oratorio of the Angel Tobias [1] The text accompanying the video reads: ..."a song to life, peace, and the conservation of the planet. An emotional journey and a reflection on humanity, life, and death, told through the voice of an angel, a being half celestial and half earthly, who observes the earth from his bell tower. A piece that evolves each time it is performed, a transcendental experience, recommended by UNESCO for its message of peace and respect for planet Earth and for its universal values."
” [1] The Angel of Tobias presides over the bell tower of the parish church of Vedndrell and is a landmark for the town. Another of her projects has been to compose 38 pieces, one for each of the flowers mentioned by Mercè Rodora in her book "Journeys and Flowers" (Viatges i flors). This is a cross-disciplinary art project, meaning artworks generated by the inspiration of other artworks. In this case, a book has given rise to her 38 compositions.Thus, other creators have each contributed 38 other works; Camil·la Pérez Salvà has contributed with watercolors, Nati Soler with writings, and Esperanza Cases Prats with perfumes. This is not the first time Carlota Baldrís has participated in cross-disciplinary art projects; one of her most recent was inspired by dry stone constructions. María Dolores García Martínez Photo: Concert program details: Long live chamber music!
"An emotional journey: The cello suites by Bach"
"Comunication, music and emotions"
"Neuromusic, emotions and welfare"
"How music affects our brain"
Vilafranca del Penedès Polyphonic Choir
Director: David Hernàndez
Piano: Miquel Villalba
December 26, 2022
18th Vic Religious Music Festival
Church of El Escorial, Vic
Director: Montserrat Meneses
April 11, 2022
esguarddedona
Jaime Laredo
Crònica / Crónica / Chronicle
Crònica / Crónica / Chronicle
ENLLAÇOS / ENLACES / LINKS
*
Vistas de página en total
TEMES / TEMAS / TOPICS
Blog Archive
-
►
2025
(11)
- ► septiembre (1)
-
►
2023
(1)
- ► septiembre (1)
Advertise
Popular Posts
-
Ir a versión en castellano Anar a la versió en català Go directly to: Pogramme The performers Thomas Tacquet - / - Franck Russo -...
-
María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) Ir a la versión en castellano Anar a la versió en català Go directly to: The concert on t...
-
Anar a la versió en català Ir a la versión en castellano Next Wednesday 21st at 8:00 pm, in the Tívoli Auditorium (Pau Casals Municipal Mu...
-
Guitars Ensemble Pau Casals Municipal School of Music in El Vendrell Photo: Sílvia Isach (@sinoca_studio) They are the protagonists of...
-
María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) Anar a la versió en català Ir a la versión en castellano On May 25, we enjoyed a concert by Ro...
-
Centena ry of a great lady of lyric music: Victoria de los Ángeles Anar al text en català Ir al texto en castellano On 1 November 2023 marke...
-
Matteo Imbruno greeting the audience at the end of the concert Screenshot from the concert video Concert in the Church of El Vendrell ...
-
What are you thinking? - I thought, what they would feel when flying. - Why waste your time thinking on something that is impossible? - ...
-
Love and Peace in our hearts and that we can do real our long and caressed dream of a better world without cruelty and without ...
-
Koldo Sebastian Photo: Dolores García (natural light without flash) As we have often stressed when talking about contemporary art,...
Entrades populars
-
Left to right Jaume Rafols, Councillor of Culture; Masha Waisel, Nuala Herron, Ana Andra i Pau Catà Marles The relationship betwee...
-
Koldo Sebastian Photo: Dolores García (natural light without flash) As we have often stressed when talking about contemporary art,...
-
Ir a versión en castellano Anar a la versió en català Go directly to: Pogramme The performers Thomas Tacquet - / - Franck Russo -...
-
Simcha Even-Chen with her work Flow Motion 2n Award. Just the next October 30, you could to see this exposition at the Saló Portal...
-
María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) Ir a la versión en castellano Anar a la versió en català Go directly to: The concert on t...
-
Immaculada Socias Next December 1, Immaculada Socias presents a The Hispanic Society of America the book The Correspondence between Is...
-
Love and Peace in our hearts and that we can do real our long and caressed dream of a better world without cruelty and without ...
-
Anar a la versió en català Ir a la versión en castellano Next Wednesday 21st at 8:00 pm, in the Tívoli Auditorium (Pau Casals Municipal Mu...
-
The European Investment Bank (EIB) today signed five agreements making it possible to provide EUR 151m for investment in innovation in s...
-
Brussels, 20 December 2017 Despite repeated efforts, for almost two years, to engage the Polish authorities in a constructive dial...
Entrades populars
-
Alexander Melnikov - Jean-Guihen Queyras The last Beethoven and the young Rachmaninov (FIMPC 2025 – V) Tuesday July, 15 Fifth Concert ...
-
Matteo Imbruno greeting the audience at the end of the concert Screenshot from the concert video Concert in the Church of El Vendrell ...
-
For Isaac [Stern] (FIMPC 2025 – VI) Wednesday, July 16, 2025 6th Concert Pau Casals Auditorium Enlace versión en castellano Enllaç vers...
-
David Dixon Doves of Peace Albert Bridge House - Manchester Central Convention Complex July 14, 2018 Ir a versión en castellano Ana...
-
Guitars Ensemble Pau Casals Municipal School of Music in El Vendrell Photo: Sílvia Isach (@sinoca_studio) They are the protagonists of...
-
María Dolores García Martínez esguarddedona Versió en català Versión en castellano An extraordinary musical and cultural event: The Song ...
-
From left to right: Albert Solé Galí, author of the prologue; Josep Ràfols, Cultural CEO of the Baix Penedès Regional Council; Kenneth Martí...
-
Anna Polonsky, Sharon Robinson, and Jaime Laredo Photo: María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) María Dolores García Martínez (esgu...
-
Photo: Auditori Pau Casals (Fundació Pau Casals) GNU / CC4.0 Poster of the 44th edition of the Pau Casals International Music Competition....
-
María Dolores García Martínez (esguarddedona) Anar a la versió en català Ir a la versión en castellano On May 25, we enjoyed a concert by Ro...
















