ABSTRACT
Gaspar Cassadó Moreu was born into a musical and culturally cultivated Barcelonian family in 1897 as the third of four children; Augustí and Montserrat were the eldest, while Josep was the youngest sibling. His parents, Augustina and Joaquim Cassadó, both came from cultured and catholic Catalan families based in the city of Mataró and they shared a passion for music. Joaquim, born into a family of artisans, entered the seminary at the age of fourteen to become a priest, where he received a well-rounded musical education at a considerable level (Macclure, 2012, n.p.). Rafael Soler, a relative of the Cassadó family, explains in a chronicle that Joaquim met Augustina Moreu at her family home, where he spent time during the summers playing the piano. Apparently, the young pianist soon decided to leave the seminary set on marrying Augustina, a decision which was so disappointing to his family that they swore of all contact and left him penniless (Soler i Fonrodona, 2003, p. 15). The couple eventually made a life for themselves in Barcelona, where Joaquim became the organist and choir leader of the church of La Mercé and Augustina opened the piano store Pianos Cassadó i Moreu, in a modernist building at Passeig de Gràcia, selling their own brands of pianos from 1906 onwards (Piquer Saclamente, 2012). Gaspar’s brother Josep, piano tuner by profession, continued the family buisness until its final closure in 1974. During the summers the Cassadó family spent their holidays in Agell, where they met and played together with musician friends such as Enric Granados, Frank Marshall and Joan Massià.
