Enric Casals was a Spanish violinist, composer, teacher, and conductor
born (in Barcelona) on July 26, 1892. He
is now completely forgotten, unlike his older brother, the cello player Pablo
Casals. His first studies were with his father. Later on, he studied with a little-known
teacher, Rafael Galvez. He then traveled
to Brussels where he again studied with little-known teachers: Mathieu
Crickboom and Joseph Jongen. I do not
know if he ever settled in Brussels. In
Europe, travel distances from one large city to another are not great so
commuting and setting up temporary residence in any one place for a few weeks
just to study is no big deal. From 1910
to 1912 he was solo violinist with the Barcelona Symphony. Casals was now 18 years old. Between 1912 and 1914, he played with the
Kurot Symphony in Saint Petersburg. I do
not know where he was between 1914 and 1918 – the war years. He moved to Prague in 1918, becoming a pupil
of Frantisek Suchy, another little-known teacher. He was 26 years old. I do not know if Casals graduated from any
conservatory after his many years of study.
By 1920, he was back in Spain. Between
1920 and 1936 he was playing and (sometimes) conducting the Pablo Casals
Orchestra. Whether he was the
concertmaster or just a section player is anyone’s guess. I didn’t trouble myself with researching that
detail of his career. During almost the
same time, he also played in the orchestra of the Gran Teatro del Liceo
(1924-1935.) It is common practice –
even in modern times – for musicians to play in various ensembles simultaneously
when scheduling allows it, giving the musician enough playing opportunities to
make a living. In 1921, Casals founded
the Enric Casals String Quartet and did a lot of touring with the quartet. I don’t know when the quartet was
disbanded. It’s possible that the
quartet was active until 1940. Casals
later devoted a lot of his time to conducting and composing. From 1940 to 1942 he was permanent conductor
of the Orquesta Iberica de Concerts and also served as resident conductor of
the Orquesta Profesional de Camara in Barcelona for several seasons. Other orchestras which he guest conducted
were the national orchestras of Portugal, Hungary, Greece, and Mexico, as well
as the famous Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris.
He founded the Casals Music Institute and was a director of the Prades
Festival (in France) from 1955 to 1983. His
compositions include a violin concerto, a cello concerto, and a suite for
cello. Casals died on July 31, 1986, at
age 94.
