Jacqueline du Pré was born in Oxford, England. When she was four, she heard the cello for the first time and fell in love with it. She received her first musical training from her mother, who was a pianist and music teacher, and at five, she enrolled in the London Violoncello School.
Soon, she and her sister, the flutist Hilary du Pré, began to participate and win in local music competitions. In 1956, 11 years old du Pré won the Guilhermina Suggia Award, which she won later for five consecutive years. The award allowed her to study at the Guildhall School of Music in London and take additional private lessons with the cellist William Pleeth.
Since she was 14, she traveled across Europe to further her education, studying with cellists Pablo Casals in Switzerland, Mstislav Rostropovich in Russia, and Paul Tortelier in Paris. She began to perform at various concerts and made her first TV appearance for the BBC playing the Lalo Cello Concerto.
In 1961, at 16, she made her formal cellist début at Wigmore Hall in London, followed by performances in prestigious venues, including the Royal Festival Hall and the Edinburgh Festival.
In 1965, du Pré recorded Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, with the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli. Her performance got described as one of “the greatest recordings of the century,” which brought her international recognition and made her one of the most beloved cellists in the world.
Following her successes, she was invited to perform with the most famous orchestras in the world, including the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic.
In 1967, at 22, she married Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, and the two became known in the music industry as the “golden couple.”
In 1971, du Pré began to lose sensitivity in her fingers, accompanied by fatigue and depression. What would later turn out to be multiple sclerosis, at the time, was considered by doctors as psychological stress, and she took a sabbatical.
She returned to perform after two years, but her condition was declining. Du Pré managed to perform live several more times before she had to retire. She continued to teach music as long as her health permitted it. She died at the age of 42.
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