Pau Casals i Defilló ("Pablo Casals") (born El Vendrell, Catalonia, 29 December 1876; died San Juan, Puerto Rico, 22 October 1973) was a Spanish Catalan cellist. He is generally thought of as the greatest cellist of his time codice_1. He made the cello popular as a solo instrument and inspired many cellists codice_1 of the younger generation. In his later years he was also a conductor as well as a composer.