The tragedy of Jacqueline du Pré is well-known: a career cut short by multiple sclerosis at 28, death from the disease at 42. In the early years it seemed she would go on forever and have one of the greatest careers ever allowed a cellist. She DID have a great career, but it lasted a mere ten years. This DVD is a compilation of various filmed footage from that career. First, there is a long documentary, peppered with musical excerpts, about her life. This is then followed by a full performance of the concerto with which she was most associated, the Elgar. She is accompanied by her then-new husband, Daniel Barenboim, conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra (as it was then called). The date of the performance does not seem to be anywhere in the associated booklet, but I judge it to be about 1968 or 1969. The performance, of course, is stupendous, as anyone who knows her legendary audio recording (with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra) will already know. She owned this concerto. She and Barenboim communicate almost by telepathy and one can see them shooting smiles back and forth at each other throughout the performance. One also sees glimpses of her parents in the audience, beaming.
The second performance is even more outstanding. It is du Pré, Pinchas Zukerman and Barenboim playing Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 5, the ‘Ghost.’ Filmed in St. John’s, Smith Square, it is simply stupendous. The three instrumentalists are in complete emotional and musical sync. The second movement in particular is emotionally satisfying. One can see and hear split-second alterations in tempi and phrasing being communicated with tiny glances amongst the partners. (And they are so YOUNG!)
The documentary about du Pré’s life includes interviews and musical snippets involving many of the people who figured in her life. She is shown playing cello duets with her teacher, William Pleeth; playing several pieces accompanied by her pianist mother, Iris du Pré; an excerpt from Bruch’s ‘Kol Nidrei,’ accompanied by Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra; playing from the Second Brahms Cello Sonata, with Barenboim at the piano; something from the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto, with Barenboim conducting the New Philharmonia. There is an interview (the only thing here in color) done in 1982, several years after she had had to retire from the concert stage. There are interesting (and moving) introductions to the two complete musical performances by the film maker, Christoper Nupen, who was closely associated with her throughout her career and who not only filmed the musical sections but also put together the documentary portions of the DVD. Nupen was originally with BBC but left to form his own production company, Allegro Films, and apparently this is the first release of a projected Allegro series that will include DVDs featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrés Segovia, Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, and many more artists right up to the present, e.g. Evgeny Kissin. Something to look for, this series.
For those of you who knew and loved the work of du Pré, this DVD is a must. For those of you who never knew her, this is a wonderful introduction to a truly great musician’s work. And we will eventually get the Allegro DVD of her playing with the ‘Israeli Mafia’ (Zukerman, Perlman, Barenboim, and the ‘honorary Israeli,’ Zubin Mehta playing bass) in Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet. And more.
Scott Morrison
