All-Cello Orchestra

Pablo Casals 150th Birthday Celebration

The cello speaks—perhaps more than any other orchestral instrument—in a way that feels human. Its range overlaps with the human voice, players share space with and embrace their instrument, and its warm, resonant sound expresses bittersweet emotions—longing, melancholy, grief—with authenticity and weight.

Conducted by Eugene Friesen, the 48-cello orchestra honors the 150th birthday of cellist and humanitarian Pablo Casals with arrangements of works by Casals, Villa-Lobos, and other beloved favorites.

Program

Schumann / Brahms / Dietrich  Scherzo from F-A-E Sonata (arr. Michael Kaufman)
Boston University ensemble

Gabriel Fauré  “Pie Jesu” from Requiem    
Longy School of Music of Bard College ensemble
 
Heitor Villa-Lobos  Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5  with Nicole DiPasquale, soprano
Dimitri Cervo  Toro-Lobiana
Boston Conservatory at Berklee BoCoCelli

Pablo (Pau) Casals  Nigra Sum, arr. Carles Gumí
New England Conservatory of Music ensemble

Casals  El cant dels ocells per a orquestra de violoncels (Song of the Birds)
Lluís Claret, soloist
Faculty ensemble
 
Mike Block  When the Birds Sing Along in the Morning (2019), inspired by Pablo Casals’ memoir Joys and Sorrows 
Mike Block, vocals, cello; Lluis Claret, cello  

Casals  Sant Martí del Canigó (1943), transcription by Enric Casals
Lluís Claret, soloist
Eugene Friesen, conductor  
Faculty ensemble
 
Blaise Déjardin  Aquarela do violoncello  (2012)  with Kee-Hyun Kim, soloist
Casals  Sardana per a orquestra de violoncels (Sant Felix, 1927)
All-Cello Orchestra (48 cellists)
Eugene Friesen, conductor

Presented with thanks to Lizbeth & George Krupp for their leadership of Vivo Performing Arts' programming in Roxbury.

Additional support for this performance is provided by the
Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation.

This performance is made possible in part by support from Vivo Performing Arts'
Amy & Joshua Boger Innovation Fund.