Description:
This biography of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who died in 1987 after a long struggle against multiple sclerosis, has been written with the full support of her husband, the musician and conductor Daniel Barenboim. At first sight it could be construed as something of a counterweight to books critical of Barenboim written by du Pré's brother and sister--in particular A Genius in the Family. But while Barenboim does present his side of the story--in relation to both du Pré's illness and the strains it put upon their marriage--Elizabeth Wilson has in fact presented a balanced portrait of du Pré not only as a woman but also as an artist. And this is the book's real strength. Wilson, a cellist herself, knew du Pré in her playing days and has paid as much attention to the music as to the offstage emotional dramas. She burst upon the music scene as a phenomenally talented 16-year-old, and ever since, du Pré's fame and tragic life story have made the task of stripping the myth from the reality no easy task. In fact, Elizabeth Wilson has done a professional job in unraveling du Pré's enigmatic life and legacy, but most of all, she reminds us that du Pré became famous in the first place because of her genius as a musician. --Nick Wroe, Amazon.co.uk
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