The cellist Pablo Casals in concert in Munich c. 1929 - 1950

Erich Salomon snapped this photograph of the cellist Pablo Casals, in concert, in Munich. The photograph is all about the rapture and the feeling of a live performance. I imagine Salomon, camera in hand, trying to capture something of Casals's transport while he’s playing, his face tilted up to the light, eyes closed. It makes me think of the physical act of playing, Casals drawing the bow across the strings, lost in the music. I love how Salomon has framed the shot. He’s placed Casals in the foreground against the backdrop of those blurry, classical columns, which somehow makes Casals's absorption in the music even more intense. The image feels spontaneous, less about capturing a perfect likeness, and more about grabbing a moment of pure, unadulterated passion. There's a real sense of intimacy here, of being allowed to witness a private moment of artistic expression. It reminds me that all art forms, whether music, photography, or painting, are about feeling, and that artists are always looking for new ways to translate those feelings into something tangible.