{"id":49247,"date":"2024-11-06T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T11:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fa3c7026-23e5-419e-8a29-b2dd81f74b04"},"modified":"2024-11-06T14:08:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:08:37","slug":"jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9: the cellist whose talent was as extraordinary as her tale was tragic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 11:37 AM<\/p>

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For some, it\u2019s the red-hot personality. Others are drawn to the complex du Pr\u00e9-Barenboim love story. Some listeners feel that the tragic emotions evoked in the music foreshadow the tragedy that later befell the performer. Whatever the reasons behind its power, the truth is undeniable: Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9\u2019s recording of the Elgar<\/strong> Cello Concerto<\/strong><\/a> has a magic that has made it legendary.<\/p>

The work became rapidly and deeply associated with the British cellist, not least thanks to Christopher Nupen\u2019s sensitive film of her performing it, but nearly 25 years after her untimely death the impact remains undimmed. Her interpretation has its detractors: some find her unbridled passion and exaggerated dynamics antithetical to Elgar<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s reflective restraint.<\/p>

<\/div> <\/figure> <p>Nevertheless she made the work her own in a way that remains absolutely unique. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/best-cellists\">Cellists the world over<\/a><\/strong> must still contend with the shadow of her playing every time they tackle it. Here is former BBC Music Magazine editor Helen Wallace on the magic of Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-one-has-ever-made-the-cello-look-such-fun\">‘No one has ever made the cello look such fun’<\/h2> <p><strong>Watching once again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-trailblazing-genius-of-film-documentary-maker-christopher-nupen\/\">Christopher Nupen<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s film<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Jacqueline-Du-Pre-Portrait-NTSC\/dp\/B0002ISGRO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><i>Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9<\/i> <i>in Portrait<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, I\u2019m reminded why I wanted to learn the cello as a child. No one before or since has ever made it look such fun. For du Pr\u00e9 it was an absolutely natural extension of herself.<\/p> <div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-cello-works\/\">Six of the best… cello works<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> <\/div> <p>Just seeing her face illuminated by pure inspiration, her long balletic bowing arm, the precision engineering of that wrist, her tremendous long fingers snapping down on the finger board, or executing those heart-stopping slides between notes \u2013 what she called her \u2018sumptuous <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/discovering-music-glissando\">glissandi<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 \u2013 makes you itch to play: her enjoyment remains infectious; everything seems possible.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO, JACQUELINE DU PRE\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UUgdbqt2ON0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>And for her it was. She almost makes us forget that, for even the greatest instrumentalists, performing is a continual battle with the body to recreate what the imagination demands. \u2018For us mortals, it\u2019s more difficult,\u2019 as her husband <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-is-daniel-barenboim\">Daniel Barenboim<\/a><\/strong> comments on the same film.<\/p> <p>The veteran maestro has since acknowledged he learnt more about music from du Pr\u00e9 than from anyone else. Witnessing her performing can still have a powerful impact on the uninitiated, as Nupen himself knows: \u2018I was told of a four-year-old child in Canada recently who had cried for days after watching Jackie’s performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto. How do you explain that?\u2019 The fact she can still inspire a new generation is reason enough to keep returning to her legacy. But the films are important for another reason too: they capture the truth of her complex personality.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-happened-to-jacqueline-du-pre\">What happened to Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9?<\/h2> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> British cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 circa 1967. Pic: Erich Auerbach\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images – Pic: Erich Auerbach\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Just over 20 years ago, controversy raged when a book published by her brother Piers and sister Hilary, <i>A Genius in the Family: An Intimate Memoir<\/i> was turned into a feature film, <i>Hilary and Jackie<\/i> \u2013 note who came first.<\/p> <p>It not only told the tragic tale of a virtuoso cut down in her prime by multiple sclerosis, but managed to produce an image of du Pr\u00e9 as an egotistic prima donna, who had never enjoyed life as a concert artist, and left family and friends trailing in her wake. Nupen is not alone in believing that damage was done to her reputation. The great <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/memories-menuhin\">Yehudi Menuhin<\/a><\/strong> and a host of former colleagues wrote a letter pleading that the film be stopped, but realised too late that their intervention had only given it more publicity.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-wrote-jacquline-du-pre-s-biography\">‘Suspicious’<\/h3> <p>For du Pr\u00e9\u2019s friend and biographer, Elizabeth Wilson, it was a painful episode. She had been asked by Barenboim shortly after du Pre\u2019s death in 1987 to write an official biography. When she was ready to start work, she visited Hilary and Piers in order to see if they wanted to collaborate.<\/p> <p>They felt that she wouldn\u2019t be giving them enough \u2018space\u2019 and, in any case, were considering writing their own. Despite discussions, access to the family archive was denied Wilson. \u2018It didn\u2019t stop me; I just had to work much harder and do more research; but it would have added an extra dimension to my book if they\u2019d agreed to cooperate. I had the feeling that they had embarked on a commercial enterprise with a personal agenda,\u2019 she recalls, \u2018The fact that there was no consultation with Barenboim about content made me quite suspicious.\u2019<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-06T111409.651.jpg\" alt=\"Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 sculpture, Kensington, Sydney\" class=\"wp-image-215258\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 sculpture, Kensington Park Community Centre, Kensington, Sydney. Pic: Sardaka via Wikimedia Commons – Sardaka via Wikimedia Commons <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Wilson acknowledges that the siblings had every right to recount the difficulties they experienced growing up with a prodigiously talented sister. What dismayed many was the sense that commercial pressures had made them divulge things Jackie would never have wanted made public. \u2018As a biographer one must try to be objective and describe various points of view. But the du Pr\u00e9s wrote their book knowing that Jackie could no longer defend herself.\u2019<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-was-the-real-jacqueline-du-pre\">‘She was about as hard to understand as it is possible to be’<\/h3> <p>Nupen, who met du Pr\u00e9 when she was 16, feels that myths were bound to develop around her because of the huge contradictions that coexisted in her personality. \u2018She was about as hard to understand as it is possible to be. There was no frame of reference because she was so many different people.<\/p> <p>‘I will never forget the impression she made on me when she strode into the flat I was sharing with guitarist John Williams. She walked in with huge, Amazonian strides carrying a cello aloft; yet I could see that she was actually very shy.\u2019<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 breaks a cello string! Live performance 1968.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GfzekzIfN-s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>The young du Pr\u00e9 did not attend a specialist music school, and felt lonely and sometimes alienated at Croydon High School and Queen\u2019s College, which she left at the age of 15. Any lack of formal education was compensated for by her larger than life personality and infallible intuition, and probably helped her develop her own creativity.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-was-jacqueline-du-pre-like\">What was Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 like?<\/h2> <p>\u2018The ability to dismiss rules was most important in her music-making,\u2019 remarks Wilson, though she also has no doubt that, in the years of her illness, she suffered from having missed out on a broader education. But people underestimated her intelligence at their peril, according to Nupen: \u2018Some tended to think her rather fey, and naive.<\/p> <p>‘It\u2019s true, she often didn\u2019t know the day of the week or what things cost, but when it came to the really important matters the depth of her perception was shattering.\u2019 It was she who recognised the importance of the films he started making, and the fact that they could reveal more about their music-making than a concert or recording could.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 - Dvo\u0159\u00e1k Cello Concerto \u2013 London Symphony Orchestra cond. Daniel Barenboim\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U_yxtaeFuEQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>A description by pianist Fou Ts\u2019ong echoes this: \u2018It was such strange combination \u2013 such seeming innocence with real earthiness. Daniel used to laugh at her apparent ignorance and disinterest in practical things. \u201cWhere is Oslo?\u201d he might ask her, \u201cIs it in Germany?\u201d she would reply\u2026 At the same time there was such richness inside her; the fire and the temperament were unbelievable.\u2019<\/p> <h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘She often didn\u2019t know the day of the week or what things cost, but for the really important matters the depth of her perception was shattering.\u2019<\/h6> <p>Her understanding of music was so instinctive that it was unnatural for her to approach it with an academic logic or consistency, as cellist Moray Welsh discovered when he embarked with her on an edition of the Elgar Cello Concerto, some years after she had stopped playing: \u2018The first thing she said was, \u201cWe must scrub out Elgar\u2019s marking of <i>nobilemente<\/i>!\u201d I explained that we couldn\u2019t do that, but she was determined to make her stamp by flouting this convention (though that was exactly how she played it).<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-her-meteoric-rise-to-fame-left-her-emotionally-vulnerable\">‘Her meteoric rise to fame left her emotionally vulnerable\u2019<\/h3> <p>‘I put in many of her inimitable fingerings and bowings, knowing that they could sound quite contrived in the hands of most players, without her inspiration and lack of physical limitations. I\u2019m afraid we never got past the first movement.\u2019 Wilson, too, recalls seeing Jacqueline\u2019s music (now owned by Barenboim) and finding that her parts were practically unmarked, a testimony to her ability to live music in the moment.<\/p> <p>Though her exalted artistic persona was supremely confident, some missed her extreme vulnerability. \u2018My impression was that her meteoric rise to fame had left her emotionally vulnerable,\u2019 explains Welsh. \u2018The total focus on the cello in her childhood meant her emotional development had been neglected. ‘She was swept up onto the rollercoaster of an international career, and when, at 27, her illness threw her back on her own resources, she was left with a tenuous grasp on her situation.\u2019<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Suite N\u00b0 2 in D Minor - J. Du Pre\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LkoDkBUxco0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>Welsh feels that, in the slow movement of the Elgar concerto, du Pr\u00e9 touched on something incredibly fragile she found within herself. The effect was unforgettable. Nupen witnessed it in a live performance of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/johannes-brahms\/\">Brahms<\/a><\/strong> Double Concerto: \u2018She said to me \u201cWhy are you always crying, Kitty?\u201d It was because her playing tore me up inside.\u2019<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jacqueline-du-pre-and-ms\">Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 and MS<\/h2> <p>The years leading up to Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9’s MS diagnosis were particularly difficult, when she felt bewildered and lost, not knowing whether she was having a nervous breakdown or whether she had a physical illness. It was in that context that her relationship with her brother-in-law, Christopher \u2018Kiffer\u2019 Finzi, briefly developed, something portrayed in the film as du Pr\u00e9\u2019s ultimate betrayal of her sister.<\/p> <p>Interestingly, no mention is made of the fact that this was by no means an isolated incident; other women came into the household; with them, Finzi even fathered two children with his wife\u2019s (apparent) consent. Their daughter, Clare, spoke out after the publication of the book, devastated that a wounding family secret, never discussed, had been shared with the world. She suffered anorexia as a child, a response to the confusing events around her in the Berkshire family farm \u2018commune\u2019.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"631\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-06T111642.057.jpg\" alt=\"Pianist Daniel Barenboim and cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 at home together\" class=\"wp-image-215259\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Pianist Daniel Barenboim and cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 at home together. Pic: Getty Images – Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>\u2018Kiffer\u2019 Finzi, Wilson points out in her book, was charismatic, and took advantage of Jackie at a critical point in her life when she was most vulnerable. Just how terrifying this period was for her is illustrated in her response to her diagnosis. Wilson again, \u2018I remember she called me up and said she was so relieved. I was horrified by the news, but I realised that what she had been through was so traumatic, even that diagnosis was welcome.\u2019<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ironic-and-humorous-a-natural-comic-but-never-bitchy\">‘Ironic and humorous, a natural comic, but never bitchy\u2019<\/h3> <p>Another side of her character that was so wrongly portrayed in the film was that of bitchiness and outright cruelty. \u2018She was ironic and humorous, a natural comic, but never bitchy,\u2019 retorts Nupen, who captured her sense of fun so many times on camera. \u2018I think she probably was the most honest person I\u2019ve ever met,\u2019 recalls Welsh.<\/p> <p>\u2018She would see through self-importance straight away and could be devastatingly direct. I\u2019ll never forget coming round one evening to hear her confronting a minor royal about her reasons for making her son learn the cello. I\u2019m not sure any one else could have spoken to a Duchess like that.\u2019<\/p> <p>Inevitably, her illness, which she bore so courageously, brought on bitterness: her central means of expression had been taken away, and anger was often directed at those nearest to her. But she continued to \u2018perform\u2019 with great humour.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"631\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-06T111942.685.jpg\" alt=\"Cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9\" class=\"wp-image-215260\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> ‘\u2018She would see through self-importance straight away and could be devastatingly direct’: cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9. Pic: Getty Images – Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Welsh recalls Lord Harewood taking her out of a cab in front of English National Opera and the two managing to land up on top of each other in the gutter: \u2018She was roaring with laughter though she could see how embarrassed he was.<\/p> <p>She still loved being the centre of attention.\u2019 She embarrassed Welsh when he took her to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-music-did-prince-charles-and-princess-diana-have-at-their-wedding\/\">wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018As they were saying their vows, she suddenly said in a very loud voice, \u201cTake me to the front now!\u2019\u2019 She loved the comedy of the situation.\u2019<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jacqueline-du-pre-and-judaism\">Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 and Judaism<\/h2> <p>In many ways, du Pr\u00e9’s humdrum suburban background ill-prepared her for the itinerant life of a virtuoso superstar. The narrowness of her home horizons came to the fore when she decided to convert to Judaism to marry Barenboim.<\/p> <p>Astonishing though it might seem, the du Pr\u00e9s didn\u2019t understand what \u2018Judaism\u2019 was. To quote Piers: \u2018What is Judaism? Is it a cult? Is it occult? Dad announced at suppertime: \u201cOnly one thing to do when in doubt. Call in the vicar.\u201d\u2019<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9: A unique and enduring legend\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RIraI9GvRSk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>The rift further widened when, in the late \u201970s, Iris, Derek and Piers du Pr\u00e9 became born-again Christians. It\u2019s quite clear from Piers\u2019s self-absorbed account of telling Jackie about his \u2018conversion\u2019 that he was blithely unaware of her response: that his was an over-simplistic, naive belief, which strengthened her sense of being Jewish. (Many forget she is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Golders Green.) Though she remained very fond of her sister, relations with her parents became strained, she lost all respect for Kiffer, and Piers was a rare visitor in her last years.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-were-jacqueline-du-pre-s-close-friends\">Who were Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9’s close friends?<\/h3> <p>Re-reading both books, one senses that everyone who came within the orbit of Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 felt passionately and, often, possessively about her. There was her family, who not only felt eclipsed, but in some ways surplus to requirements when her career took off; there were the London musicians with whom she played in her early life. Then there were the paternal figures like William Pleeth, Charles Beare, the Nupens and producer Suvi Grubb, and there was Barenboim and his set – violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman and conductor Zubin Mehta, who became her new musical family.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-violinists-ever\">The 20 greatest violinists of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-06T112231.973.jpg\" alt=\"Violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 and pianist Daniel Barenboim. Pic: Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-215263\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 with two of her regular collaborators, violinist Pinchas Zukerman and pianist (and husband) Daniel Barenboim. Pic: Getty Images – Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Many of these supported her to the end of her life, when the family \u2018seemed to disappear into thin air\u2019 in Barenboim\u2019s words, and inevitably felt bitter about them profiting from her story. \u2018With such a large personality,\u2019 comments Welsh, \u2018everyone wants a piece of you. Because of her generosity of spirit, I think we all felt we shared something unique with her through our friendship.<\/p> <p>‘But maybe none of us had the whole picture; she was mercurial, and showed different sides of herself to different people. But whatever her mood, being with her always revealed some new depth or insight, and touched one deeply.\u2019<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-is-jacqueline-du-pre-remembered\">How is Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 remembered?<\/h2> <p>I ask all three how they would best like to remember du Pr\u00e9. Both Nupen and Welsh alight on the scene in a train from the <i>Portrait<\/i> film. She\u2019s sitting with the cello hoisted up on to her singing a French folk song and accompanying herself with delightful <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-pizzicato\">pizzicato<\/a><\/strong> strumming. \u2018That seems to capture her essence: shining, amused, spontaneous.\u2019 As Nupen, too, recalls, \u2018There was no one who came within her orbit who did not leave feeling brighter; she just radiated good will.\u2019<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99: II. Adagio affettuoso\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CB-17Fcvwmc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>Welsh still listens in awe to her <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/cesar-franck\">Franck<\/a><\/strong> Violin Sonata with Barenboim: \u2018At the end of the first movement she changes the colour of the phrase: it knocks you down every single time. How she does it, I\u2019ll never know.\u2019 Wilson \u2018adores\u2019 her impetuous, passionate <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/richard-strauss\">Richard Strauss<\/a><\/strong> <i>Don Quixote<\/i> and her poetic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/robert-schumann\"><strong>Schumann<\/strong><\/a> Cello Concerto with Barenboim.<\/p> <p>\u2018Her playing in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> Trios is quite extraordinary \u2013 one sees it clearly in the film of <i>The Ghost<\/i>,’ he adds. And, naturally, the unique performances of the Elgar Cello Concerto, both in the recording with Sir John Barbirolli and the filmed version.\u2019 For Christopher Nupen, too, her performances of the Elgar remain burned onto his memory, \u2018She seemed almost uniquely able to fulfil the highest promise of great music: to give us glimpses of eternity.\u2019<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-du-pre-remembered-the-best-recordings-and-films\">Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 remembered: the best recordings and films<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Elgar<\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong>Cello Concerto<\/strong><br\/><strong>London Symphony Orchestra\/John Barbirolli<\/strong><br\/><strong><i>EMI 965 9322 <\/i><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B000026KLA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Elgar: Cello Concerto\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/5cP82ZEUSCSoHu5lp1t63F?utm_source=oembed\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>R Strauss<\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong><em>Don Quixote<\/em><\/strong><br\/><strong>New Philharmonia\/ Sir Adrian Boult<\/strong><br\/><strong><i>EMI 576 3412 <\/i><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B000002RVQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Lalo Cello Concerto; R. Strauss Don Quixote\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/0UPvUzuhxXPvDwLmgSL26K?utm_source=oembed\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Beethoven <\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong>Piano Trios<\/strong><br\/><strong>With Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim<\/strong><br\/><strong><i>EMI 350 7982 & 350 8072 <\/i><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B001IQUTEC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Schumann<\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong>Cello Concerto in A minor<\/strong><br\/><strong>New Philharmonia\/Daniel Barenboim<\/strong><br\/><strong><i>EMI 562 8032 <\/i><\/strong><\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Schumann: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129: II. Langsam\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/2Yxh5834I9P9kyzCgM1UiC?utm_source=oembed\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jacqueline-du-pre-in-portrait\"><strong>Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 in Portrait<\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong>Containing two films<\/strong><\/p> <p><strong>Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9 and the Elgar Cello Concerto; The Ghost<br\/><i>Opus Arte OACN0902D <\/i><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B0002ISGRO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jacqueline-du-pre-a-celebration\"><strong>Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9: a celebration<\/strong><\/h3> <p><strong>Containing the films:<\/strong><\/p> <p><strong>Who was Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9?; Remembering Jacqueline du Pr\u00e9;<\/strong> <strong>The 1980 interview<br\/><i>Christopher Nupen A07CND<\/i><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B000SG7Z1I\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 11:37 AM For some, it\u2019s the red-hot personality. Others are drawn to the complex du Pr\u00e9-Barenboim love story. Some listeners feel that the tragic emotions evoked in the music foreshadow the tragedy that later befell the performer. Whatever the reasons behind its power, the truth is undeniable: Jacqueline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":49248,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"13"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic.jpg",1200,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic.jpg",1200,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/jacqueline-du-pre-the-cellist-whose-talent-was-as-extraordinary-as-her-tale-was-tragic.jpg",1200,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 11:37 AM For some, it\u2019s the red-hot personality. Others are drawn to the complex du Pr\u00e9-Barenboim love story. Some listeners feel that the tragic emotions evoked in the music foreshadow the tragedy that later befell the performer. Whatever the reasons behind its power, the truth is undeniable: Jacqueline…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/49247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}