Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...
. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time.
Her career was cut short by
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...
, which forced her to stop performing at the age of 28; she died 14 years later at the age of 42.
She was the subject of the 1998
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
''
Hilary and Jackie'', which attracted criticism for perceived inaccuracy and sensationalism.
Early years, education
Du Pré was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England, the second child of
Iris Greep and Derek du Pré. Derek was born in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...
, where his family had lived for generations. After working as an accountant at
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
in
St Helier and London, he became assistant editor and later editor of ''The Accountant''. Iris was a talented concert pianist who had studied at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
.
At the age of four du Pré is said to have heard the sound of the cello on the radio and asked her mother for "one of those". She began with lessons from her mother, who composed little pieces accompanied by illustrations, before enrolling at the London Violoncello School at age five, studying with Alison Dalrymple. For her general education, du Pré was enrolled first at
Commonweal Lodge, a former
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...
for girls in
Purley, and then at the age of eight, transferred to
Croydon High School
Croydon High School is an independent day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust.
History
The school was founded in 1874 in Wellesley Road just north of th ...
, an independent day school for girls in South Croydon.
In 1956, at the age of 11, she won the
Guilhermina Suggia
Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, (27 June 1885 – 30 July 1950) was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Paris, France with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent many ...
Award, and was granted renewal of the award each year until 1961.
[ The Suggia award paid for du Pré's tuition at the ]Guildhall School of Music
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and ja ...
in London, and for private lessons with the celebrated cellist William Pleeth
William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré.
Biography
Early years
William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...
.
In late 1958, the family moved to London, where Derek du Pré took the job of Secretary of the Institute of Cost and Works Accounting. In January 1959, du Pré was enrolled in Queen's College, where she fell behind in her schoolwork, and in December du Pré's parents withdrew her from the school. This ended du Pré's general education; she never took the GCE.[
From an early age, du Pré was entering and winning local music competitions alongside her sister, flautist ]Hilary du Pré
Hilary Anne du Pré (born 25 April 1942) is an English flautist and memoirist best known for her co-authorship of the book '' A Genius in the Family'' (1997) and contributions to the 1998 film ''Hilary and Jackie'', both of which relate the sto ...
. In 1959 she began appearing at children's and young musicians' concerts, including with fellow students at the Guildhall end-of-term concert in March, followed by an appearance on BBC Television, playing the Lalo Cello Concerto. In May she repeated the Lalo concerto with the BBC Welsh Orchestra in Cardiff, with an additional recording of the Haydn Cello Concerto at the BBC Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England.
The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, a ...
with the Royal Philharmonic. In 1960 du Pré won the Gold Medal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the same year participated in a Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals, masterclass in Zermatt
Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...
, Switzerland. Pleeth entered her in the Queen's Prize competition for outstanding musicians under 30. The panel, chaired by Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...
, unanimously awarded du Pré the prize, and Menuhin subsequently invited her to play trios with him and his sister.[
]
Career
In March 1961, at the age of 16, du Pré made her formal début at Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...
, London. She was accompanied by Ernest Lush, and played sonatas by Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
, Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
, Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
and Falla, and a solo cello suite by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
. She made her concerto début on 21 March 1962 at the Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...
playing the Elgar Cello Concerto
Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had already gone out of fashion with the concert-go ...
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Rudolf Schwarz; repeating the Elgar at The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
with the same orchestra on 14 August of the same year, under Sir Malcolm Sargent. In September 1962, du Pré débuted at the Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...
with Brahms' Second Cello Sonata, followed by débuts in Berlin in September and Paris in October, playing the Schumann Cello Concerto. After the Paris début, du Pré enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
to study for six months with Paul Tortelier, the tuition paid by her final Suggia Award stipend, although she continued to refer to Pleeth as her primary teacher.[
In 1963, du Pré performed at ]The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
, playing the Elgar Concerto with Sir Malcolm Sargent. Her performance of the concerto proved so popular that she returned three years in succession to perform the work. At her 3 September 1964 Prom Concert, she performed the Elgar concerto as well as the world premiere of Priaulx Rainier
Ivy Priaulx Rainier (3 February 190310 October 1986) was a South African-British composer. Although she lived most of her life in England and died in France, her compositional style was strongly influenced by the African music remembered from ...
's Cello Concerto. Du Pré became a favourite at the Proms, returning every year until 1969.
In 1965, at age 20, du Pré recorded the Elgar Concerto for EMI with the London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
and Sir John Barbirolli, which brought her international recognition. This recording has become a benchmark for the work, and one which has never been out of the catalogue since its release. Du Pré also performed the Elgar with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943.
Biography
Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a vi ...
for her United States début, at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
on 14 May 1965. In 1966 du Pré studied in Russia with Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...
, who was so impressed with his pupil that at the end of his tutorship he declared her "the only cellist of the younger generation that could equal and overtake isown achievement."
In 1968, at the suggestion of Ian Hunter, a composition was created by Alexander Goehr
Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic.
Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...
specifically for du Pré, ''Romanza for cello and orchestra, op.24,'' which she premiered at the Brighton Music Festival, with Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra.
In addition to those already mentioned, Du Pré performed with numerous orchestras throughout the world, including the London Philharmonic
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphon ...
, Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...
, New Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscriptio ...
, Chicago Symphony
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenur ...
, Israel Philharmonic
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...
, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the ...
. She made her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1968 playing Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor with Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the fou ...
. She regularly performed with conductors such as Barbirolli, Sargent, Sir Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in Londo ...
, Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
, and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
.
Du Pré primarily played on two Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...
cellos, one from 1673 and the Davidov Stradivarius of 1712. Both instruments were gifts from her godmother, Isména Holland, the wife of composer Theodore Holland. She performed with the 1673 Stradivarius from 1961 until 1964, when she acquired the Davidov. Many of her most famous recordings were made on this instrument, including the Elgar Concerto with Barbirolli, the Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments.
These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instr ...
with Barenboim and the two Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
cello sonatas. From 1969 to 1970 she (like Casals before her) played on a Francesco Goffriller cello, and in 1970 acquired a modern instrument from the Philadelphia violin maker Sergio Peresson
Sergio Peresson (1913–1991) was an Italian-born violin maker.
Born in 1913 in Udine, Italy, Sergio made his first violin in 1943 before moving to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1947. There he primarily did repair work for the Venezuelan Symphony Orc ...
. It was the Peresson cello that du Pré played for the remainder of her career until 1973, using it for a second, live, recording of the Elgar Concerto, and her last studio recording, of Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
's Cello Sonata in G minor and César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...
's Violin Sonata in A arranged for cello, in December 1971.
Her friendship with musicians Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...
, Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
, Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the fou ...
and Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.
Life and career
Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...
, and marriage to Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
led to many memorable chamber-music performances. In a book review for two biographies about the cellist, Eugenia Zukerman
Eugenia Rich Zukerman (born September 25, 1944, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American flutist, writer, and journalist. An internationally renowned flute virtuoso, Zukerman has been performing with major orchestras and at major music festivals i ...
, the flautist and former wife of Pinchas Zukerman, judged du Pré "one of the most stunningly gifted musicians of our time". The 1969 performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.
The Q ...
in London of the Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
Piano Quintet in A major, "The Trout", was the basis of a film, ''The Trout'', by Christopher Nupen
Christopher Nupen (30 September 1934 – 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.
Early life and education
Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 Sep ...
. Nupen made other films featuring du Pré, including ''Jacqueline du Pré and the Elgar Cello Concerto'', a documentary featuring a live performance of the Elgar; and ''The Ghost'', with Barenboim and Zukerman in a performance of the "Ghost" Piano Trio in D major, by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
.
Personal life
Du Pré met pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
in London on Christmas Eve 1966. Shortly before the Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...
of 1967, she cancelled all of her current engagements and flew to Jerusalem with Barenboim. There, she converted to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...
and they married at the Western Wall
The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...
on 15 June 1967 after giving concerts around Israel for its troops and citizens. Barenboim and du Pré were highly regarded as a "golden couple" in the music industry during the late 1960s and early 1970s, with their extensive performing and recording collaborations being ranked as some of the finest of their time.
The posthumous memoir ''A Genius in the Family'' (later renamed ''Hilary and Jackie'') by Jacqueline's siblings Hilary du Pré
Hilary Anne du Pré (born 25 April 1942) is an English flautist and memoirist best known for her co-authorship of the book '' A Genius in the Family'' (1997) and contributions to the 1998 film ''Hilary and Jackie'', both of which relate the sto ...
and Piers, published well after her death, alleges that she had an extramarital affair with Christopher Finzi
Christopher "Kiffer" Finzi (12 July 1934 — 28 November 2019) was a British orchestral conductor. He was the son of composer Gerald Finzi and artist Joyce Black (known as Joy Finzi).
Background
Born in Hampstead, London in 1934, Finzi was the ...
, her brother-in-law, from 1971 to 1972 when she was visiting Hilary's family.
Multiple sclerosis
In 1971, du Pré's playing declined as she began to lose sensitivity in her fingers and other parts of her body. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...
in October 1973. Her last recording, of sonatas by Chopin and Franck (the latter originally for violin), was made in December 1971. She went on sabbatical from 1971 to 1972, and performed only rarely. She started performing again in 1973, but by then her condition had become severe. For her January tour of North America, some of the less-than-complimentary reviews were an indication that her condition had worsened except for brief moments when her playing was without noticeable problems. Her last London concerts were in February 1973, including the Elgar Concerto with Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the fou ...
and the New Philharmonia Orchestra on 8 February.
Her last public concerts took place in New York in February 1973: four performances of the Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
Double Concerto
A double concerto (Italian: ''Doppio concerto''; German: ''Doppelkonzert'') is a concerto featuring two performers—as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. The two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's ...
with Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.
Life and career
Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...
and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
conducting the New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
were scheduled. Du Pré recalled that she had problems judging the weight of the bow, and just opening the cello case had become difficult. As she had lost sensation in her fingers, she had to coordinate her fingering visually. She played only three of the four concerts, cancelling the last, in which Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist.
Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...
took her place on the programme with Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
's Violin Concerto.
Whilst definitive diagnosis of du Pré's MS type is not available, some speculate that it was relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Use of corticosteroids may have had adverse effects, including Cushing's syndrome.
Death
Du Pré died in London on 19 October 1987 at age 42, and is buried in Golders Green Jewish Cemetery
Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, usually known as Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery in Golders Green, London NW11. It is maintained by a joint burial committee representing members of the West London Synagogue and the S&P Sephardi ...
.
The Vuitton Foundation purchased her Davidov Stradivarius for just over £1 million and made it available on loan to Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
. After being owned by the Norwegian cellist Øyvind Gimse, the 1673 Stradivarius, named by Lynn Harrell the ''Du Pré Stradivarius The Du Pré Stradivarius is an antique cello fabricated in 1673 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona (1644–1737). It has also been known generically as the 1673 Stradivarius, as it is the only cello made by Stradivari in that yea ...
'' in tribute, is now on extended loan to Hungarian cellist István Várdai. Du Pré's 1970 Peresson cello is currently on loan to cellist Kyril Zlotnikov of the Jerusalem Quartet
The Jerusalem Quartet is an Israeli string quartet, which made its debut in 1996. Their performance repertoire is wide and includes works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel ...
.
There is a blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...
celebrating her memory at her former home, 27 Upper Montagu Street, Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...
.
In 2021, actress Miriam Margolyes
Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The ...
claimed in her memoir ''This Much is True'' that Du Pré died in an assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
. She stated that her therapist, Margaret Branch, told her that she assisted the suicide via lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
. Du Pré's former husband, Daniel Barenboim, called the claim "unverifiable" and said it had "absolutely nothing to do with the reality of Jackie's passing".
Cultural depictions
Book and film
The posthumous memoir ''A Genius in the Family'' by Hilary and Piers du Pré was written at the same time as the 1998 film '' Hilary and Jackie'', directed by Anand Tucker
Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts. He co-owns the production company Seven Stories.
Personal life
Tucker was born in Thailan ...
, which was based partially on interviews with Hilary and Piers. The film's release promoted the popularity of the memoir. Both the book and the film have been criticised for sensationalising Jacqueline du Pré's personal life, although the general claim of an affair was supported by others.
The memoir's content in general remains factually unsupported and disputed, and contains significant omissions. The memoir's actual description of events is ambiguous, and describes Jacqueline's sudden request for sexual "therapy sessions" as occurring within a period of extreme mental depression. The unusual depression (deemed an early symptom of multiple sclerosis) also coincided with a long period in which Finzi took the initiative in verbally comforting Jacqueline. Hilary claims that she was helping her sister through her depression. She also argues, however, that she was victimised by her sister's demands, and concludes that her sister had a desire for her husband. The memoir's account of the affair with Finzi was contested by Hilary's daughter, Clare Finzi, who suggested that her father was a serial adulterer
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
who had seduced her emotionally vulnerable aunt in a time of great need to gratify his own ego. The posthumous allegation of an affair, combined with Hilary's claim to be victimised, inevitably generated a controversy over Jacqueline du Pré's personal life.
The film '' Hilary and Jackie'' differs from the memoir on several key factual points, and has been criticised by some for imposing a scandal on Jacqueline's personal life. Clare Finzi, Hilary's daughter, charged that the film was a "gross misinterpretation which I cannot let go unchallenged." It portrays Jacqueline from Hilary's point of view before moving to a portrayal of events as imagined from Jacqueline's own perspective. The film contains factually disputed elements, portraying Jacqueline as being predatory and actively planning to seduce her sister's husband. The director, Anand Tucker, defends the film's portrayal of an affair by arguing that extant alternatives amount to canonisation or hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, and that he was "deeply moved yHilary's sacrifice". The film and book were also defended for their emotional power and broad authenticity, despite fictional content regarding aspects of Jacqueline's personality and the specifics of events.
Writing in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', however, Hilary defended the film's depiction of events and her sister's personality, arguing that it accurately portrayed her darker side, the "MS side"; and in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' she argued that detractors simply "want to look only at the pieces of Jackie's life they re ready toaccept". According to Hilary, " e ravages of MS changed Jackie's personality. The Jackie I knew and loved died years before her actual death in 1987, but to be truthful I had to show the MS side of her". Others, such as Christopher Nupen, took a different view, holding that Jacqueline's struggle with multiple sclerosis was more complex, with sustained periods of normality even to the very end.
Ballet
Choreographer Cathy Marston
Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet ...
choreographed a one-act ballet titled ''The Cellist
''The Cellist'' is a one-act ballet about British cellist Jacqueline du Pré, choreographed by Cathy Marston, with the scenario devised by Marston and Edward Kemp. The music was written by Philip Feeney and incorporated scores du Pré was best ...
'', based on du Pré's life, for The Royal Ballet. The ballet premiered in 2020 at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
, with Lauren Cuthbertson as "The Cellist", Matthew Ball as "The Conductor" and Marcelino Sambé
Marcelino Sambé (born 29 April 1994) is a Portuguese ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London.
Early life
Sambé was born on International Dance Day 1994 to a Guinean father and Portuguese mother in an immigrant c ...
as "The Instrument".
Opera
''Jacqueline,'' by Luna Pearl Woolf (music) and Royce Vavrek
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian-born Brooklyn-based librettist, playwright, dance scenarist, musical theatre writer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with composers David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Mikael Karlsson, Ricky Ian Gordon, Paola P ...
(libretto) had its world premiere at Canada's National Ballet School
Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet ...
's Betty Oliphant Theatre in Toronto, in a production by Tapestry Opera
Tapestry Opera is a Canadian opera company located in Toronto, Ontario. According to its website, it is "the only Canadian company solely dedicated to the creation and performance of original Canadian opera". To date, the company has produced 18 ...
, on 19 February 2020.
Honours and awards
Du Pré received several fellowships from music academies and honorary doctorate degrees universities for her outstanding contributions to music in general and her instrument in particular. In 1956, at the age of 11, she was the second recipient (after Rohan de Saram in 1955) of the prestigious Guilhermina Suggia
Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, (27 June 1885 – 30 July 1950) was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Paris, France with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent many ...
Award, and remains the youngest recipient. In 1960, she won the Gold Medal of the Guildhall School of Music
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and ja ...
in London and the Queen's Prize for British musicians. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in the 1976 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebr ...
. At the 1977 BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, she won the award for the best classical soloist album of the past 25 years for Elgar's Cello Concerto.
After her death, a rose cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
named after her received the Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
from the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
. She was made an honorary fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it remained a women's college until 20 ...
, whose music building bears her name.
In 2012, she was voted into the first ''Gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
'' Hall of Fame.
Discography
On DVD
* ''Remembering Jacqueline du Pré'' (1994), directed by Christopher Nupen
Christopher Nupen (30 September 1934 – 19 February 2023) was a South African-born filmmaker based in the United Kingdom specialising in biographical documentaries of musicians.
Early life and education
Nupen was born in South Africa on 30 Sep ...
* ''Jacqueline du Pré in Portrait'' (2004), directed by Christopher Nupen
* ''The Trout'' (1970 documentary released on DVD in 2005), directed by Christopher Nupen
* ''Jacqueline du Pré: A Celebration of Her Unique and Enduring Gift'' (2007), directed by Christopher Nupen
* '' Hilary and Jackie'' (1998), dramatised portrait directed by Anand Tucker
Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer based in London. He began his career directing factual television programming and adverts. He co-owns the production company Seven Stories.
Personal life
Tucker was born in Thailan ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Biography on "Cellist.nl" Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:du Pre, Jacqueline
1945 births
1987 deaths
20th-century classical musicians
20th-century English musicians
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Burials at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery
Converts to Judaism
Neurological disease deaths in England
Deaths from multiple sclerosis
EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists
English classical cellists
English Jews
English people with disabilities
Jewish classical musicians
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Croydon High School
musicians from Oxford
British women classical cellists
20th-century English women musicians
20th-century cellists