Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra gives a Pablo Casals memorial concert in London

A young Pau Casals, by Ramon Casas

The great Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (Pau Casals i Defilló in Catalan) died 50 years ago in 1973 at the age of 96. To help commemorate this, the Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra (La Jove Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona), conductor Carlos Checa, is giving a concert at London's Cadogan Hall on 5 October 2023. They will be joined by the young cellist Laura Peribañez Artero for Bruch's Kol Nidrei and Laura Peribañez Artero in fact organised the concert.

The programme begins with Casals' Sardana 'Sant Martí del Canigó' inspired by the music of his native Catalonia and written the early years of self-imposed exile from Spain, and named for a place in his native Catalonia—a region to which he had a deep emotional attachment. This is followed by the Intermezzo from Enrique Granados’ opera Goyescas.  Granados was a close friend of Casals, who often played the cello and piano version of this work. Casals was also the first to record Bruch's Kol Nidrei, the work that closes the first half of the programme. The evening is completed with Brahm's Symphony No. 1.

The Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra will also be giving this programme on 1 October at l’Atlàntida de Vic, Barcelona in benefit for Associació TEA/Asperger Osona, and on 8 October at Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona in benefit of AFAB (Barcelona Association for relatives of people that suffer Alzheimer and Dementia). An additional outreach concert in the UK is also planned.

The orchestra was founded in 2015 by conductor Carlos Checa and it is currently made up of 60 young musicians.

Full details from the Cadogan Hall website.