2026 marks both the 60th anniversary of Gaspar Cassadó’s death and the 150th anniversary of Pablo Casals’s birth.

In this album, Valérie Aimard and Cédric Lorel pay tribute to these two towering Catalan cellists, both of whom were also composers. The full spectrum of Spanish colour resounds in Cassadó’s rarely performed Sonata in A minor, his flamboyant Requiebros, and his Suite for solo cello, which celebrates its centenary this year. In striking contrast, Casals’s youthful pieces and his deeply moving Cant dels ocells captivate through the simplicity of their poetic, dreamlike Romanticism. Bound by a long-standing musical friendship, Valérie Aimard and Cédric Lorel illuminate the highly distinctive style of these two great masters: the passion of their musical gestures, the nobility of their expression, and the elegance of a singing line imbued with freedom.