Conductor José Luis Gomez will conduct the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Thursday in a special concert with the Israeli-American cellist Amit Peled performing on famed cellist Pablo Casals’ instrument.
Here’s what Gomez, a native of Spain who is contending for the TSO’s music director post, had to say about fellow Spaniard Casals:
“The addition of the cello of Mr. Casals, being Spanish myself, is very special. Pablo Casals, apart from being a name in the musical history not only as a cellist but as a musician … he’s also known as an humanitarian. When we in music think of Pablo Casals, we think about a very complete kind of a musician that also played wonderfully on the violoncello but also was a wonderful composer and conductor, as well. In terms of Spanish history, he was a landmark personality that still lives on especially in the area of Catalonia, his hometown. For all musicians in the world, Pablo Casals … is a complete musician.”
