Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography

Jacqueline du Pré was a prodigious, renowned British cellist of the 20th century. Many of you will already know who she was, but may be interested in Carol Easton’s book to learn more about du Pré’s life. Below the next 3 paragraphs, which are the heart of my review, I have put together a brief sketch of du Pré’s life and career, as a background to my review. If you wish to really learn about Jacqueline’s life, I recommend you acquire Easton’s book. It is incomparably better than my short summary which follows, and quite arguably the best of the biographies written of her.Easton met Jacqueline du Pré in 1982, 5 years before Jacqueline died, and saw her often for most of that time. Though Jacqueline’s husband, brother and sister declined to be interviewed for this book, over 100 other acquaintances, including other musicians, neighbors, friends, patrons, psychologists, doctors, pundits and reviewers contributed to this richly detailed and eloquently written biography. Easton chronicles, in detail, du Pré’s years as one of the most accomplished cellists of her times. The work contains full details of some of Jacqueline’s more memorable performances, including dates, venues, orchestras, other performers, as well as the receptions by the audiences. Innumerable quotations from published critques and reviews, along with quotes from some of the many interviews she conducted, were woven seemlessly into the text.Nearly all of the interviewees who were quoted, spoke eloquently about, and with great admiration for Du Pré, not just for her musicianship, but about her qualities as a person. Though Easton was obviously an admirer of her subject, she doesn’t portray her as a saint. She never hesitated to describe Jacqueline objectively, noting her shortcomings as well. From reading this book, I’m satisfied that I possess a realistic and accurate understanding of who Du Pré was as a person and what her life was about.Easton readily confesses that she is not an expert on musical theory or the intricacies of various artistic techniques. This biography is not about technicalities, few of which you will find in the text. It is all about Jacqueline du Pré’s life. However, abundant professional reviews of Jacqueline’s performances are provided throughout the book as direct quotations from newspaper reviews or as quotations in interviewees’ own words.Reviewer’s Mini-biography:Jacqueline du Pré, who started playing the cello at 4, was immediately recognized as having remarkable talent. By her early teens, she had already begun performing in public at lesser known venues, as a “child prodigy”. In 1961, at the age of 16, she made her London debut at Wigmore Hall, playing a Stradivarius nonetheless, which she received as a gift from a wealthy patron. The audience was overwhelmed by her performance, and by the following morning when reviews appeared in the press, offers for recitals and orchestral engagements began flooding in, and thus her career was launched.During the following 10 years, she received a flood of invitations to play at countless, prestigious venues, with some of the most prominent orchestras of the world. In 1965, at the age of 20, she toured the United States with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. On Christmas Eve, 1966, she met and played (informally) with Daniel Barenboim for the first time. The two were married 6 months later in Israel, and spent the next 5 years touring the international classical music circuit together and separately. That period in her life proved to be an exhilarating, though quite exhaustive, seemingly uninterrupted sequence of performances, all to great acclaim.In late 1970, Jacqueline began experiencing fleeting, but nevertheless worrying, intermittent physical impairments: numbness in her fingers, extreme fatigue, mysterious aches and pains – which ultimately proved to be symptoms of the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS). No doubt, the stresses of her high-pressured, hectic career, jet setting from continent to continent, playing concerts on short notice, were taking a toll on her health. The early symptoms were severe enough to prevent her from giving quality performances, and she had to take leave from the concert circuit. As months and years passed, despite medical and psychological treatments, her condition worsened, as the debilitating disease gradually took over her body. She was forced finally to call it quits by 1973. All the while, Barenboim continued with his career, increasingly away from home, staying in touch by phone whenever possible and providing financial support. Confined to her bed and wheelchair in her small London flat for the next 14 years, Jacqueline’s condition progressively worsened, and she succumbed to pneumonia in late 1987, at the young age of 42, a lonely, depressed, disillusioned and heartbroken woman.Music and the cello weren’t just the loves of Jacqueline’s life, they WERE her life. The cello was her very best friend, to which she turned time and again to relieve stress and seek solace. Both music and her cello were tragically denied her due to the devastating effects of her disease. Worse than that, there were inevitable psychological consequences, such as loneliness, depression, severe loss self-esteem and self-worth. Her immediate family largely abandoned her, in disapproval over her marriage to a Jewish man. Barenboim cared, but was away most of the time, busy with his career. Visits by former colleagues and friends during the last years of her life helped buoy her spirts a bit, as did the occasional honorary degrees she received, and the OBE award (Order of the British Empire), but in the end, they could not begin to compensate for her loss of freedom and a meaningful and rewarding life. Jacqueline du Pré will live on, through her music and Easton's fine biography, in the hearts of those who appreciate fine classical music.

The other day I happened to come across the video clip where young Jacqueline and Daniel played their instruments together. Their looks were radiant. I knew the tragedy in their later lives that it seemed to be more potent. Particularly for Jacqueline, the gap between ups and downs was severely big. She’s left behind the splendid masterpiece for us paying for her tremendous talent. I thought her as the heroine in a sad story before this book. I didn’t know her to the full behind her own glorious moments and tragic onset of her illness. That’s not all.The author Easton met Jacqueline in her last few years but her depiction of those old good days of Jacqueline is very vivid and attractive. I felt like seeing smily girl who had been the unique prodigy who gotten cut off from other normal peers but warm-hearted in person.Especially the latter part of her life was very impressive to me other than her former one. She chose to carry on against all odds and made it at last. That is alike the cello’s note. we, human beings cannot always enjoy dazzling ups . Someday we all have to admit our mortality and our closing days. Her attitude towards that is very moving. The climax of cello’s tune is receding weeping. After this book I learned the way not to judge one’s life by superficial standard.I have been keenly into the last sentences in this book.Music remains.

Having read all three J. du Pré bios out there, this one was the most balanced of the three, and the one I would most recommend. It is neither sycophantic nor sweetened, as in the Elizabeth Wilson version; neither is it the lopsided, scandal-mongering "memoir" (more like fiction) that her siblings published (and am sorry I read). Easton's account does not hide from du Pré's darker side, however Easton articulately gives us ALL of du Pré's sides, showing us as best as anyone every will, du Pré's depth and breadth as musician, woman, and utterly human.

One fine book by one fine writer who, despite her book's being filled mostly with her subject's itineraries (when, what, and where she played), manages nonetheless a heartfelt and heartrending portrayal of this most wonderful classical musician who was Jacqueline du Pre. It was seeing old clips and listening to "Jackie" play that prompted my reading this book -- just I imagine reading this book first might have prompted me to seeking out Jackie's music. But what a fine duo for both lifting one up and breaking one's heart, Ms. Easton's portrayal of her and Jackie's own inestimable contribution to the magic that is music. Play on, Jackie, for the notes you played are nowhere else to be found, and they are wonderful.

Very interesting. I learned a great deal about Ms. du Pre, whose work I have long appreciated and her family constellation, concert programs, etc. Little explication of her apparently quite engaging, tantalizing (I think) and perhaps eccentric personality. The author, who says she knew well and loved du Pre, does not offer her own assessment, but sprinkles examples of miner oddnesses, telling interactions, plus opinions of experts, and so on, throughout the text. I was left frustrated, having a lit of data, but no firm hold on the kind of person she was.

This biography by Carol Easton is excellent. Well written and deeply researched, it provides a much more accurate biography than "Hilary and Jacqueline", which is filled with family distortions. Easton's book provides a thorough description of Jacqueline's growth as a musician, with detailed portraits of her teachers and of England at the time. Easton also provides a detailed description of multiple sclerosis as a disease, and as it affected Jacqueline. This book is highly recommended.

Thie is a well crafted biography. Highly recommended!

This is a good book in good condition at a good price.

This "biography" gave very little insight into Jacqueline du Pre's life and the timeline in general was rather muddled. There were a few snippets of biographical detail, but it otherwise seemed to rely heavily on concert itineraries and reviews and got rather repetitive in that respect. There was very little information about her early life. It also skirted rather superficially around her relationship with Daniel Barenboim. Overall rather disappointingly uninformative.

Having read the bio on Jacqueline du Pré by her sister Hilary and her brother Piers I was looking forward to reading a biography from an 'outsiders' point of view (ie not a family member) and this bio by Carol Easton didn't disappoint. It was well written and told Smiler's story from her music point of view rather than from her families point of view,mainly as both Hilary and Piers declined to be involved in this book, as did Daniel Barenboim. Having read the ' Genius In The Family ' book I was somewhat surprised that Jackie's affair with her brother-in-law Kiffer Finzi wasn't given a mention by Carol.One has to assume it happened as both Hilary and her daughter Clare have separately stated that was the case,though Clare gave a rather scathing view of her father,while Hilary was more understanding and seemed to accept the affair as it helped her sister's depression so was conducted with her knowledge and approval rather oddly. I also noted that in Carol's book a young man by the name of William Ingrey came into Jackie's life latish in her illness and seems to have fulfilled certain of her needs ( Carol hints at a sexual relationship). However,William Ingrey isn't mentioned at all in the siblings book so I assume they were unaware of his presence in their sister's life. I am soon to read the bio by Elizabeth Wilson and so will inevitably compare her book with the two I have already read. I would recommend Carol Easton's book as it is an interesting read and good to hear from people who were involved in Jackie's lif- mainly her musical life.

My late wife and I loved Jacqueline du Pre's music. My wife had secondary progressive MS luckily not the primary form the Jacqueline had. The book brings back many memories have the characteristics of 2 amazing women who try to live life to the full even with the debilitating nature of MS.Thank you for a brilliant book.

An engrossing and thoroughly-researched account of Jacqueline du Pre's life and extraordinary musicianship, informed by numerous interviews with those who knew her. A pity that family members did not want to give any input but the book stands as a record of a great artist together with the traagic circumstances leading to her early death.

This book helped my desire to know more about the subject.The tragedy that such a compelling talent should be cut so short seems so unbelievably cruel and senseless that I'm welling up with tears as I write this, There just has to be an afterflife!