A nine-year-old Gaspar Cassadó performed in a recital attended by Pablo Casals, who immediately offered to instruct the young musician. Born in Barcelona in 1897, the cellist and composer dedicated his life to the intersection of performance and composition, eventually navigating a career that spanned the dramatic geopolitical shifts of the mid-20th century.
Early Development and Mentorship
The son of church musician Joaquim Cassadó, he began formal cello training at age seven. Following his debut encounter with Casals, he received a scholarship from the city of Barcelona to study under the elder master in Paris. His early progress was interrupted by the onset of World War I and the death of his brother Agustí. Upon returning to Spain, he performed with the nation's leading orchestras and expanded his reach to France and Italy by 1918.
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Beginning in 1922, he shared his own musical output, which encompassed cello concertos, chamber music, oratorios, and the sardana. During his most productive era in the mid-1920s, he authored his Suite for Cello Solo, the Cello Concerto in D minor, and various chamber works including his Piano Trio in C major. His style frequently integrated Spanish and Oriental folk influences alongside Impressionism. He also earned notoriety for musical hoaxes, notably attributing his own Toccata to Girolamo Frescobaldi.
Professional Partnerships and Exile
In 1923, he began a professional and personal partnership with the singer and pianist Giulietta Gordigiani, with whom he lived in Florence for over three decades. The pair toured extensively as a cello and piano duo. During World War II, the couple resided in the village of Striano. Following the conflict, he faced a severe professional decline triggered by a public letter from Casals in The New York Times, which alleged collaboration with fascist regimes. Although he denied these claims, the accusations hindered his appearances in allied territories until he eventually reconciled with Casals via the intervention of Yehudi Menuhin.
Pedagogy and Late Career
In his later years, he balanced his solo career with roles as an international competition judge and educator. He held a professorship at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena starting in 1946 and at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln beginning in 1958. He also co-founded the Course of Spanish Music in Compostela and worked frequently with pianist Alicia de Larrocha. His final professional papers and those of his wife, Chieko Hara, are preserved at the Tamagawa University Museum of Education.
Fast facts
- Born: 1897, Barcelona
- Died: 1966, Madrid
- Primary Occupations: Cellist, composer, music educator
- Key Mentorship: Studied under Pablo Casals
- Academic Affiliations: Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln
- Notable Composition: Suite for Cello Solo
- Languages Spoken: Spanish, Catalan, German
Questions readers ask
Did Gaspar Cassadó compose original works or just transcriptions?
He produced a significant body of original work, including concertos, string quartets, and solo cello pieces, alongside an extensive list of transcriptions.
What caused the rift between Cassadó and Pablo Casals?
Casals accused Cassadó in The New York Times of collaborating with fascist regimes during World War II, though Cassadó disputed these allegations.
Achievements
- Instruments: cello
- Genres: contemporary classical music, classical music and sardana
