Almost all the seats in the Salle Gaveau were empty, but the atmosphere in the elegant Paris concert hall was tense. Behind the scenes, 38 nervous young men and women from a score of countries polished their bulky cellos, flexed their hands, and spat on calloused fingers. In the balcony sat 14 distinguished cellists, including France's Pierre Fournier, Britain's Sir John Barbirolli, Russia's Mstislav Rostropovich. It was the Concours International Pablo Casals 1957, organized to honor the great cellist, and it proved to be a surprisingly thrilling East-West match.
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