Joys and Sorrows [antikvár]

PREFATORY NOTE by Albert E. Kahn When I first discussed with Pablo Casals the possibility of my writing a book on him, I had in mind a work quite different from the present one. The book I then envisioned was one depicting—in words and photographs—his daily life and work, and presenting an intimate contemporaneous portrait of him as an artist and as a man. Both the text and photographs were to be by me. During my preparatory work on the book, I traveled extensively with Casals in this country and abroad, attending his concerts, master classes, performances of his oratorio El Pessebre, and music festivals in which he participated. Periodically I visited him at his home in Puerto Rico. Besides photographing his diverse and indefatigable activities, I kept detailed notes or made tape recordings of our conversations, which sometimes consisted of informal chats and sometimes of structured question-and-answer exchanges regarding his past experiences and his views on a wide range of subjects. To supplement my knowledge of his earlier years, I made a survey of his papers and memorabilia at his residence at Molitg-les-Bains, France, and his former home at San Salvador, Spain. The more I learned about Casals, the more dissatisfied I became with my original concept of the book. His career 11