纪念音乐大师卡萨尔斯
1973年10月22日，帕布罗·卡萨尔斯与世长辞。他被公认为是二十世纪上半叶杰出的大提琴演奏家，也是有史以来最伟大的大提琴家之一。今天就为大家分享一段他的故事。
Pablo Casals
帕布罗·卡萨尔斯
1876—1973
the Catalan cello-player
加泰罗尼亚大提琴演奏家
I was born on 29th December 1876 in El Vendrell in Catalonia into a proud Catalan family. Although my mother was born in Puerto Rico, her parents were Catalan too. Let me explain. Catalonia is the north-east region of Spain, with Barcelona as its regional capital. The Catalan people are very independent, and they have their own language and culture. Although they are part of Spain, many of them would like Catalonia to be an independent country.
My family was very musical, and music was always my first language. My father played and sang music in our local church, and he often took me with him. He gave me lessons, too, and by the age of four I could play the piano. Father was a good teacher. I gave my first public performance on the violin when I was six. It was not a completely happy experience, however, as a group of boys laughed at me because I played with my eyes closed.
Some travelling musicians visited El Vendrell one year, and they played some wonderful music. Among their instruments was a cello, which I had never heard before. Although I was only 11 I decided then that the cello was the instrument for me. Now I needed a cello teacher, so my mother took me to the Escola Municipal de Música in Barcelona, about 70 kilometres north of El Vendrell. I studied hard, and in my free time after school and at weekends, I searched the city’s music shops for interesting music. I discovered a copy of ‘Six Suites for Solo Cello’ by J.S. Bach, which was like finding six bars of gold! Every day,
cello n. 大提琴
free adj. 闲暇的
solo adj. 独奏
I studied the music and played a little bit more, although I did not play Bach’s Suites in public until 13 years later. There was no television at that time, or even radio. If people wanted to hear music, they had to go to a concert hall or a café. I played in cafés every evening, sometimes popular music and sometimes classical, and it was a very important part of my musical education. I earned money, too, which I used to pay for my teaching.
Five years later, I completed my studies at the Escola Municipal in Barcelona, but I didn’t know what kind of job I could get. I continued to play in cafés, and one day a man spoke to me. He told me he had enjoyed my playing very much, and then he introduced himself. He was Isaac Albéniz, a very famous pianist and composer at the time. As he was leaving the café, he gave me a note and told me to take it to the royal palace. The palace was the home of the Queen Maria Cristina, widow of King Alfonso and mother of the future king, who was then only eight years old.
I thought he was joking, but in fact I was invited to play for Queen Maria Cristina, and she loved my music. The letter also introduced me to Count Morphy, who took an interest in my education and taught me art, philosophy and maths. With help from the Queen and the Count, I was able to study composition at the Real Conservatorio de Música y Declamación. I played there with the Quartet Society. That was my first proper job as a musician.
composition n. 作曲
柯林斯名人故事集
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改变历史的人物 激励人心的经历听地道英音讲述了不起的人生故事第一级（适合小学1-3年级学生）
了不起的发明家、领袖、女性、企业家、表演家
第二级（适合小学4-6年级学生）
了不起的飞行员、建筑师和艺术家、作曲家、数学家、医护人员
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了不起的作家、探险家、表演家、慈善家、科学家
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了不起的科学家、领袖、企业家和商人、思想家和人道主义者、作家
正文部分用简明清晰的英文讲述人物生平故事，并以脚注形式提供重点词汇解释，文后附该著名人物生平大事记。
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