The Congress of Deputies commemorates the International Day of Peace for the first time with a tribute to Pau Casals

Congress of Deputies will celebrate next September 21st International Day of Peace with an institutional act of remembrance and tribute to the musician Pau Casals

Thus, attendees will be able to listen to the famous cello ‘Goffriller’, built in 1733 and which belonged to Casalswhich will be played in the Congress Chamber with the interpretation of short musical pieces by the cellist Ettore Pagano, winner of the last edition of the ‘Queen Elisabeth Competiton’, accompanied by the pianist Yoko Suzuki.

The tribute comes when the 150th anniversary of his birth and is part of the official Casals 150 program, a commemoration promoted by the Pau Casals Foundation and the Generalitat of Catalonia. In fact, the date is recognized as an Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.

From the April 13 and until October 2027a program of concerts, exhibitions, educational projects, audiovisual productions, digital content and other cultural activities will be developed in cities in Spain and numerous countries, with the aim of “spread the work, thoughts and values” of Casals.

In addition to “reinforcing the international projection of his legacy and bring his figure closer to the new generations“, as the Foundation explains in a statement.

The one that will be held in Congress is the first institutional event on the occasion of the ‘International Day of Peace’. This act of music and peace will be chaired by the president of Congress and will be attended by deputies, authorities, and representatives of the institutional, cultural, social and economic spheres.

Casals was cellist, conductor and composer. “His musical talent was always linked to the defense of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights“explains the entity.

Precisely, he was invited four times by United Nations as a musician and defender of peace – in 1958, 1963, 1971 and 1973 -. On October 24, 1971, he premiered in the United Nations General Assembly in New York the ‘Hymn to the United Nations’ that the UN itself had commissioned. At the end of the event, the secretary general, U-Thant, presented him with the ‘United Nations Peace Medal’.