Jacqueline du Pré was recognised during her brief prime as one of the supreme cellists of the 20th century, with an intense commitment and a well-honed technical mastery to back up her heaven-sent talents. She seemed to inhabit every piece she played and the public responded joyfully to her interpretations of such concertos as the Elgar and the Schumann, as well as the sonatas of Beethoven, Brahms, Franck et al. She was also at the centre of an extraordinary group of young friends who set the classical musical agenda for the 1960s. The way her career was snatched away from her by a remorseless illness, leading to her early death, has inevitably cast a romantic glow over her life story. So it is salutary to visit or revisit this treasury of her recordings – almost all of them painstakingly remastered from the original tapes, and including previously unissued performances – and remind ourselves just how great she was.
This new box set draws together the entirety of Jacqueline du Pré EMI Classics catalogues, assembled over her short 12-year career.
The whole content has been NEWLY REMASTERED in 192Hz/24bit and from ORIGINAL TAPES (the two albums with John Barbirolli are using the HD remastering from the 2020 edition).
⦁ It includes FOR THE FIRST TIME the recording below recorded in 1968 at Abbey Road Studios, London, previously unpublished:
BRAHMS Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Gervase de Peyer clarinet
Jacqueline du Pré cello
Daniel Barenboim piano
⦁ It also includes a NEW RECONSTRUCTED/EDITED version of the DON QUIXOTE by R. STRAUSS done by Art & Son Studio with a better sound restitution
As a reminder this album was originally supposed to be recorded by Jacqueline du Pré with Otto Klemperer, but after only one day of recording the conductor withdrew from it and from the concerts that were planned a few days later. Klemperer was promptly replaced by Sir Adrian Boult for the concerts at the Royal Festival Hall and Boult and du Pré made a complete performance at Abbey Road Studios which was recorded. As wrote Andrew Keener, who edited and remastered it for the 1st release in 1995: “Judging by sundry noises (pencils dropping, even talking at one point), Boult’s single take was probably made with the recording light off and it may have been simply a whim to switch on the recorder.” To remedy “the inevitable handful of significant flaws and a missing first bar (caused by a belatedly switched-on recorder)” Keener made a few short patches from the Klemperer takes, and the result is incredible. Thanks to new digital tools Christophe Hénault from Art et Son Studio Annecy edited and reconstructed it with a better sound, a greater presence.
⦁ Du Pré’s recordings provide a treasurable memento of the “perfect balance of youth and maturity” that her teacher, William Pleeth, found in her music-making: “She approached each new experience with spontaneous pleasure and enthusiasm.” This new 23CD boxed set entirely remastered in HD offers a vivid experience of her life-enhancing art
