Pablo Casals

Pablo Casals (29 December 1876 – 22 October 1973), also known by his birth name, Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: [ˈpaw kəˈzalz i ðəfiˈʎo]), was a Catalan cellist, composer, and conductor, born in Spain. 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. Casals had an international career and traveled and performed widely. With the fall of Republican Spain to the Nationalist forces of Francisco Franco in 1939, Casals went into self-exile, refusing to return to Spain until democracy was restored.