Jacqueline Du Pre: A Celebration of Her Unique Enduring Gift

As a fan of Jacqueline du Pre I eagerly awaited viewing this DVD, and, for the most part, I was not disappointed. The first film is taken up for the most part by testimonials of her musical genius and sparkling personality by those who were close to her. It is instructive, however, to note that not a single member of her family is included. Jackie was, in fact, a complex personality, a genius with the cello in her hand, a nearly lost soul without it. A person with little formal education outside of music, she was thrust early into a sophisticated world in which she felt lost and out-of-place. Her marriage to Daniel Barenboim was troubled at best, and, as the biography of Jackie by her sister, Hilary, makes, clear, she very nearly wrecked her family and almost destroyed her sister's marriage. She was, in fact, subject to extremes of mood and behavior, not always the effervescent, smiling person depicted in both movies. This DVD is a hagiography of sorts, and so exploration of the darker sides of Jackie's life and personality would, perhaps, have been out of place, but if one expects to get a balanced view of the life of Jacqueline du Pre, this is not the place to find it.

This DVD is a good document gathering several materials related to the great artist Jacqueline Du Pré. It succeeds on transmitting what this remarcable cellist and great person meant to everybody on her time, and how she should be followed today as a reference on how to face life and its tragedies with joy, despite the enormous difficulties one can suffer... On the second chapter, we can see how an affected Jacqueline could give a fresh, honest answer to a very harsh (very english) questionaire with remarcable dignity... The last chapter should not be included, in my opinion... it has almost no relation to the topic..

What a joy to listen to and/or watch the excellence of Ms. du Pre. It is difficult to believe that we lost her so manyweaks ago at age 42. Nevertheless, the limited videos and many recordings bring her back to us in fully glory. What a joy it must have been to see her perform before she was on her downward journey for the 14 years that she dealt with MS.

Excellent!

Boilerplate, a great disappointment. Hagiography.

For me this is the best Nupen's film about Jackie. It has "Who was Jacqueline du Pré?", "Interlude with Johannes Brahms" a previously unpublished interview and "Remembering Jacqueline du Pré". It's more than 3 hours of music and words of people who knew her best to enjoy and remember the best cello player of all times."Heart-Stopping arcchive footage" The Times

An interesting, thoughtful and sympathetic presentation of the life and work of an amazing woman. Sad that there are so few recordings of her performances. The movie, "Jackie and Hilary" did not do her justice.

This is painful to watch. It contains practically nothing of interest to anyone with even a passing acquaintance of the accomplishments of this remarkable person. Don't waste your time on this; get the film of her life "Hilary and Jackie". Even with the controversial treatment of her private life, it is much more fun and informative than this title.

Many years ago I saw her Playing ELGAR in Winchester Cathedral. This was at the very beginning of her terminal illness. This DVD shows not only Jacqueline and her life but also her husband Daniel B... But also the other famous muscians. It is a fully rounded Documentry of her life and her close friends I also recommend not only this DVD but also equaly the DVD of her Trout Concert. Both are outstanding and well worth the money to purchase these DVDs. Yours David Lunn-Rockliffe (in Exeter, Devon)

This disk brings back wonderful memories of when I first heard Jacqueline Du Pre play (sadly not at a live concert). I hope this DVD will enable many others to share these moments. Highly recommended.

Christopher Nupen's charming biopic of Jacquiline DuPre is a real gem. In typical Nupen style he disarms the viewer with his frank and often naive portrayal of the artist who radiates immense beauty and majesty with her mastery of the cello. I had to watch it through twice and enjoyed it as much for Nupen's insight into the real person behind the cello as well as absorbing Jacqui's generosity of spirit. As told during the story once having met Jacqui one would be all for her......In fact one can almost feel that one did know her and she radiates her generosity of spirit through the medium of this these films. For all of us who never knew her....... but rejoice in her music let this be an ultimate tribute to her undoubted talent.

Arrivato in ritardo (spedito due volte). A parte questo piccolo incidente (subito risolto in modo molto cordiale e attento dal venditori) il video merita certamente di essere visto per avere un'idea di quello che questa grandissima musicista ha rappresentato per la sua generazione. Un talento unico la cui storia toccante non può non lasciare un segno sugli animi sensibili.

... vielleicht beste Cellistin aller Zeiten. Zeitgenossen, ehemalige Lehrer und Kollegen sowie Freunde und Bekannte der Britin äußern sich, dazwischen immer wieder hinreißende musikalische Szenen voller Lebensfreude und Leichtigkeit. Eben Jacqueline du Pre, wie sie leibte und lebte. - Albrecht Schnabel München.