New edition of the Casals Festival will be streamed online

Notice friday, june 26 2020

The renowned international classical music event will webcast seven days of concerts

The Musical Arts Corporation (CAM) of Puerto Rico and its subsidiaries announced that the 64th edition of the Puerto Rico Casals Festival will be held virtually. After several months of planning, the international classical music event will take place free of charge from July 2 to 8, through the Facebook platforms of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and El Nuevo Día.

«Through the Casals Festival, we aim to erase barriers, and bring both the music community and the general audience closer through the universal language of music. Even with all the challenges we have overcome this year, we are proud to be able to do it. Through this historical edition, we seek to set a precedent in which Puerto Rico serves as a model for how these types of events are experienced worldwide. «explained the executive director of the CAM, Carlos Ruiz Cortés.

The Casals Festival of Puerto Rico was founded in 1956 by the famous cellist, conductor, and composer Pablo Casals. Since then, the most outstanding musical talent in the world has performed in its stage. Among some of the great conductors who have passed through the Festival are Mstislav Rostropóvich, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Eugene Ormandy, Sir John Barbirolli, Yehudi Menuhin, and Krzysztof Penderecki.

«Following the noble task that began more than sixty years ago by the maestro Pablo Casals, we invite you once again to witness the incomparable talent of artists of high international prestige, who from their respective countries have sent us their recitals. We hope that this gift that Pablo Casals has left us, can result in peace and joy in these difficult times, «said Maximiano Valdés, artistic director of the Casals Festival.

Given the halt of massive face-to-face activities worldwide, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, this edition will present the concerts online, recorded from the place of origin or residence of the guest artists. Each concert will have the artist’s personality through a more intimate experience. The Puerto Rican filmmakers, Yeya Monroig and Ricardo Santana of the company Como Imágenes, have been responsible for taking care of every video and sound detail. The public will be able to enjoy it from the comfort of their home or a mobile device, with the highest quality standards.

Graphic artist Gustavo Castrodad created the Festival poster. The design pays tribute to a young bohemian Casals, accompanied by a Caribbean design with elements from the nature of Puerto Rico.

This tremendous musical celebration will begin next Thursday, with a concert by the world-renowned violinist, Joshua Bell, together with the Puerto Rican soprano, Larisa Martínez, and the pianist Kamal Khan. For seven days, classical music stars such as Ingrid Fliter, Rafael Aguirre, Stephen Hough, Trio Sanromá, and Amit Pelet will perform. The closing of the Festival will be in charge of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra with the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a concert recorded in one of the previous editions.

The concerts will be streamed from July 2 to 8, at 8:00 pm, through the Facebook pages of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and El Nuevo Día.

Festival Program

Thursday, July 2

Joshua Bell, violin (United States)

Larisa Martínez, soprano (Puerto Rico)

Kamal Khan, piano (United States)