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Yesterday afternoon, the awards ceremony of the prestigious 2026Queen Elisabeth Competition for Cello took place in Brussels. The event, presided over by Queen Mathilde of Belgium, was attended by Ester Borràs, Delegate of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union; Xavier Fina, Director General for Cultural Rights, Creation and Libraries at the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia; Héctor Calvo, Head of the Support Unit of the Directorate-General for Performing Arts and Music at Spain’s Ministry of Culture; Narcís Serra, Vice-President of the Pau Casals Foundation; Jordi Pardo, General Director of the Pau Casals Foundation; Bernard Meillat, Musical Advisor to the Pau Casals Foundation; and Núria Ballester, Director of the Pau Casals Museum.
Ettore Pagano, Winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition
The winner was the young Italian cellist Ettore Pagano, who was presented with the “Casals” Goffriller cello by Narcís Serra. Thanks to the Pau Casals Foundation, Ettore Pagano will have the Goffriller cello on loan for the next four years. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear him perform on it at the Pau Casals International Music Festival (21 July, El Vendrell) and at the Palau de la Música (22 July, Barcelona).
The loan of the cello, now known as the “Casals Goffriller” ist part of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Pablo Casals, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium.
Supporting Young Cellists: A Core Mission of the Pau Casals Foundation
The loan of the Goffriller cello is intended to support young cellists and help them develop their careers. Marta Casals has preserved the instrument over the years by entrusting it to a succession of promising young musicians, including Matt Haimovitz, Anne Gastinel, Claudio Bohórquez and, more recently, Amit Peled. Peled described playing the Goffriller as “a journey of artistic exploration,” adding that “Casals’ cello has the most human voice of all cellos.”
The “Casals” Goffriller
Pablo Casals acquired the exceptional Goffriller cello in 1908. Built in 1733 by the great Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriller, the instrument was played by Casals for more than sixty years. Upon his death, Casals bequeathed the cello to the Pau Casals Foundation, while granting its usufruct to his widow, Marta Casals, Vice-President of the Foundation. Casals often explained that it was a challenging instrument to play, but that once mastered, it possessed a unique personality that he did not find in Stradivarius or Guarneri cellos.
“My cello is my best friend, my dearest friend; I even love its strings, which sound their best when they are about to break.” — Pablo Casals
With the commitment to keeping the legacy of the instrument alive and continuing Casals’ dedication to young musicians, as well as honouring the deep and lasting friendship that united him with Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the Pau Casals Foundation, in accordance with the wishes of its Vice-President, Marta Casals, has decided to entrust the cello to Ettore Pagano, winner of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition.
Queen Elisabeth Competition
The Competition was founded in 1937 by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium under the name Eugène Ysaÿe, and adopted the name Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1951. Since then, it has established itself as one of the world’s most prestigious international music competitions. Initially dedicated to violin and piano, the competition introduced the cello category for the first time in 2017, an edition in which Marta Casals served as a member of the jury.
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