Jaqueline du Pré

[Papageno]

I've read numerous reviews which claim that she's one of the greatest cellists to have passed.  I really can't see why she's that great in the recordings that I've heard.  I tried comparing the Brahms cello sonatas with Fournier, and I think Fournier's performance is far superior to that of du Pré.

[BMW]

I am not intimately familiar with the work of enough cellists to comment on how she compares with them, but du Pré's recordings preserve some of the most passionate music making I have ever heard.  This CD introduced her to me and convinced me of her greatness as an artist --

[ccar]

I've read numerous reviews which claim that she's one of the greatest cellists to have passed.  I really can't see why she's that great in the recordings that I've heard.  I tried comparing the Brahms cello sonatas with Fournier, and I think Fournier's performance is far superior to that of du Pré.

There are some musicians you only have to listen for a few seconds to realize they have a very distinctive "voice", you feel can project something special to you. Naturally this usually happens with great artists many admire. But our personal sensibility to them, if honest enough, is always a very individual connection. If we don't feel it, I believe it is very healthy to admit it. And it may be a good stimulus to understand why we prefer other interpreters or readings, what do we really look for in a particular musical piece, in art, or perhaps in ourselves.

This is to say that for me Jacqueline du Pre is one of those artists. Her volcanic musicality is not easy to describe and I feel it after the first few bars. I remember her London luthier describing how the shop staff immediately stopped their work to listen the moment she tried the sound of any cello. That's the kind of impression I have when she plays. I just have to stop and be marveled.

But I really take your reaction to Jacqueline as a serious and honest one. And mainly because to explain your relative indifference you did choose an artist I also very much admire. For me Pierre Fournier is one of the few great "singers" of the cello – like Casals, Feuermann, Shafran, and ... du Pre. I am perhaps too omnivorous, but from this lot I really can't choose one to reject another. 
         
And I understand your choice because I also love Fournier in the Brahms sonatas – as you probably Know he even recorded them more than once – the more widely Known are the 2 studio versions with Backhaus and with Firkusny. They are great music making and wonderful cello playing. But still I would always miss the unique fire and poetry of Jacqueline. Look how she rides the Allegro vivace of the F major sonata. As it happenned to me more than once, perhaps you try it again in a few years and discover some of its marvels.     

                   

[MishaK]

The Du Pré recordings to have, which should persuade you of her artistry, are the earlier Elgar with Barbirolli (the later Barenboim version doesn't quite compare), as well as the Dvorak with Celibidache. I am also very fond of her Don Quixote with Boult.

[knight66]

ccar, Thanks for that post, it deserves wider reading than it is likely to get here.

Mike

[ccar]

Thanks Mike. Jacqueline du Pre more than deserves a thread anywhere in any musical forum. I look forward to other posts with comments and insights on her.

To fuel other contributions let me note, as the Jacqueline du Pre fans will Know, there are also different available versions of the Brahms sonatas by Jacqueline and Barenboim  - the more widely Known is the May & August 1968 EMI; but there is also the Christopher Nupen April 1968 recording, more recently issued; and also the early 1962 live recording of the F major, with Ernest Lush. 

It is always interesting to compare how the big musicians/interpreters can (must?) give different readings of the same musical pieces. For me this individual variety is essential to the listening of music. It gives a richer and varied perspective of how a musical piece can be translated into our imagination. And I hope it also help us to put aside the common but simplistic assumptions of the "best" version or interpreter of anything.

[knight66]

Apart from the Elgar, could you recommend to me a disc that you regard as quintessentially her at her best?

Mike

[Mirror Image]

Apart from the Elgar, could you recommend to me a disc that you regard as quintessentially her at her best?

Mike

This recording of Dvorak's and Delius' cello concertos really convinced me of her artistry, but then again her Elgar recording with Barbirolli was life-affirming as well:

[ccar]

Apart from the Elgar, could you recommend to me a disc that you regard as quintessentially her at her best?

Mike

You put it in a very difficult way - "quintessentially her at her best ... ".  I can only tell you the first recording I heard of Jacqueline du Pre - the Haydn C Major concerto. It caused on me one of those revealing moments, when you stop and feel there can be "greatness" out there.

I can thank you for giving me a reason to listen to it again, as I write. Don't Know if it is quintessential enough. But it continues to strike me with the same force and magic as before.

                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I0mxuMyzfg&feature=related
                                               
         

[knight66]

Thanks for the recommendations, I will now go look and see.

Mike