Performing Gaspar Cassadó’s music through Pau Casals’ legacy

Clara Piccoli

About this exposition

The aim of my research is to understand how to improve my playing and develop my interpretation of Gaspar Cassadó's music by incorporating Pau Casals' playing style into my own. My goal is not to emulate Casals but to grasp the spirit of his playing, understanding the key concepts, technical and interpretative, of his performing style, and to apply and adapt them to my playing to develop my performance of some compositions by Cassadó. To accomplish this goal, I will firstly go through an extended data collection, listening to and analyzing many Casals’ recordings, watching his recorded masterclasses on YouTube, and reading articles, theses, books, and treatises about his playing. I will interview, get feedback, and have lessons with some experts on my topic. I will work on the embodiment of my discoveries through a self-critical practice and through my re-enactment of Casals’ recording of Requiebros. I will then apply my discoveries and experiment with them in my performances of Requiebros and in the first movement of the Preludio-Fantasia of his Suite for Solo Cello, which I will then record to show the outcomes of my research. My research has improved my performances of those pieces and my playing in general because of a fuller and more radiant sound, improved articulation and clarity, better phrasing direction, enhanced unity within the pieces, and richer expressivity through the use of Casals-inspired expressive intonation, rubato, vibrato, and portamento. This study is aimed for people who are curious about Casals' approach to music and his performing style, as well as how I was inspired by it and how I used and experimented with my findings to improve my playing and particularly to interpret some of Cassadó's compositions.

type	research exposition
keywords	Cello, Gaspar Cassadó, Pau Casals, Interpretation, Speaking quality, Percussive technique, Portamento, Rubato, Vibrato, Expressive intonation
date	22/09/2025
published	22/09/2025
last modified	22/09/2025
status	published
affiliation	Codarts, University for the Arts
copyright	(c) Clara Piccoli
license	All rights reserved
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3878216/3878217
published in	Codarts
portal issue	Codarts Artistic Research Reports.
external link	www.codarts.nl

Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

Performing Gaspar Cassadó’s music through Pau Casals’ legacy (2025)

Copyrights

name	Clara Piccoli - Artistic Research Report (1)
copyright	(c) Clara Piccoli
license	All rights reserved
usages	pdf