Time machines aren't always confined to science fiction. On Thursday at the Peabody Institute, the clock will be turned back 100 years for the re-creation of a recital given there by famed cellist Pablo Casals — played on the same cello that Casals used for that Feb. 12, 1915, program.
The performer this week will be Amit Peled, the dynamic Israeli-born cellist and Peabody faculty member. A couple of years ago, the Casals Foundation offered Peled the loan of the instrument, purchased by Casals two years before that Peabody appearance.
Peled has been on a high ever since. He practically glows when talking about the cello, crafted in Venice by Matteo Goffriller in 1733. It features a lush, reddish veneer and, on the back, the clear indication of where Casals' left leg rubbed against it for decades as he played.
Musicians are known to anthropomorphize instruments.