"Long before there was Yo-Yo Ma, there was Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor
Pablo Casals (December 29, 1876-October 22, 1973), regarded by many as the
greatest cellist of all time. The recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
and the U.N. Peace Medal for his unflinching dedication to justice and his
lifelong stance against oppression and dictatorship, Casals was as much an
extraordinary artist as he was an extraordinary human being -- a generous and
kind man of uncommon compassion and goodness of heart, a passionate spirit in
love with life, and an unflinching idealist. And yet, like many exceptional
people, he cultivated his character through an early brush with
suffering."
Maria Popova shares a window into Casal's creative vitality and relationship
to work.
