Jacqueline du Pré - Dvořák Cello Concerto - London Symphony Orchestra cond. Daniel Barenboim 

I attended this consert, a memory I shall always treasure. So lovely , she was just too good for this world. R.I.P. Jacqueline.

I went to the same school as Jacqueline.... Queen's College in London..she was just a kid and was studying part time as she was following cello lessons and training. We saw her on occasions with her bright red hair. A very unusual young girl. Her story was tragic she was so gifted, so exceptional and when she played the cello she moved us all. What a loss for humanity.

I was there. Amazing concert. I'd just come out of Russia through Czechoslovakia. Russia was invading. The concert was a fundraiser for Czech refugees. History repeats itself.

Jacqueline is still without equal, for me. She remains one of the very few instrumentalists who can send shivers up and down my spine. Her husband’s pianism certainly could not do that. In addition, she was a kind and generous person. A radiant star.

I can never understand why classical music is so underappreciated . This performance is so dramatic and powerfully performed. We need to do a better job with music education .

Dear RU-vid, please do not interrupt a video like this with ads. Make me watch them at the beginning if you have to and don't let me skip them, anything other than the crime against humanity of penetrating innocent ears with obnoxious ad voices in the middle of what might be the finest piece of cello-playing ever recorded.

Wow!!!!! Dvorak's concerto is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. DurPre was one of the great musicians of the 20th century, and her destruction and death from MS was a loss for all of us. Thank heavens some of her performances have been recorded and saved.

The greatest cellist that ever lived and most likely ever will.she was the greatest cellist ever and will remain so for ever. No cellist comes close to her marvelous talent.

I can always tell when her music is playing on the radio, every note comes alive. Her talent continues to bring joy to so many. Her musicality was remarkable. Her life an inspiration.

"2 minutes please while i change my string" i love her

An absolute legend in my eyes, truly one of the best cellists ever. The fact that there are adverts right in the middle of this performance is illustrative to me of how the attitude towards real art has changed. This is a true artist sharing their soul in this video and it is interrupted by a vomit inducing light show peddling cheap goods/services. Horrid.

The concert actually took place at the end of August (not in September) 1968. The people of Prague woke up on the morning of August 21st, to realise that Warsaw Pact forces had invaded their country overnight. The concert was held on the following Monday (which was a Bank Holiday). I attended the concert and remember it as probably the most emotionally-charged public event I ever witnessed. There were many Czech men and women in the audience -- wearing red-and-white badges and colours in their lapels and dresses -- and openly weeping throughout the performance. The impact of the political events, the concert itself and the atmosphere among the audience will remain with me for the rest of my life.

I was most fortunate to have had the chance to study for five years with Jacqueline in Knightsbridge and having discovered this recording has brought me back to it all. I am still at a loss to express the words to explain her Person, Talent and Genius that I knew over those years. Her vision and message, so personal, so heartbreakingly intense, given with such intimate urgency and utter Truth is unbearable as it is fragile and rare. Many Artists recordings are just that- a 'static' moment recorded in time however Jacqueline's recordings offer a new and living message to the auditor upon every lecture. Jacqueline's voice, like Alice, comes to us from 'the other side of the looking-glass', that place where everything is possible, where words end, where music begins and Genius Vision points to the future and into....eternity.....

it is a crime putting so much adds while someone listens to such a piece!!!

I'm 81 years old ,thank GOD for allowing me to enjoy this performance .

I am of the same generation as Danny and Jacqueline. I bought their recordings and reveled in the performances. This time around I'm impressed by her physical strength, her bow strength is immense. All her other qualities are very much present - eloquent phrasing, lyricism, musical intelligence. But what a bow. What power. Her Elgar, much that same. Just overwhelming power with all the tonal depth and nuance to be hoped for.

Makes me feel very old. I went to this concert September 2 1968

Rostropovich said to her "you can go further than all of us, further than me". I see his point when I watch this. Technique is unnoticeable. Its just music with no barriers.

Dvorak the composer & Du Pre the musician two masters of their craft a marriage made in heaven.

I was lucky enough to be there, at that brilliant fundraising concert! I well remember when her strings broke during the performance.

Jacqueline du Pre undoubtedly the best cellist of the century, her sound is so deep, passionate, energetic, romantic, mystical. Her unique interpretations are the mirror reflection of her soul and rich inner world, rich character. She doesn’t play pretentiously, lamely or one-dimensional, her music is everything. Her passion is infectious, you just want to take a cello and start practicing. The goddess of music, beautiful, pure and passionate soul. It is a great gift that we had a chance to listen to her records.

She broke a string! That's power! That's rock and roll! Go Jackie! One of the greatest cellists, EVER! 🤩🤩🖤🖤✊✊

Her right hand and arm were so marvelous. The control and tone she had was wonderful.

How amazing to find this recording of Du Pre at her best. The most moving performance I have heard in a very long time.

To think that DuPre was but 23 in ‘68 is hard to imagine. Her technique supported her impassioned interpretations and playing. Her tone and rock solid sound production continue to impress me. Her intensity is amazing. Her glances at Danny as he accompanies her are laser intense. It’s her lead - he follows and directs the orchestra to follow her. They hear her phrasing and dynamics, of course. Still, the tightness of the orchestra’s ensemble playing is to be noted and appreciated. Their performance is still very much alive. Thank You for the posting.

Chuck everything in the bin - the gossip, the weird movie, the book by her bitter, jealous sister - and just watch this. THIS is what du Pré was all about. The rest of it doesn't matter. She was one of the greatest performers of all time. That's what matters.

Gives me goosebumps hearing Jacqueline du Pré play this beautiful music with so much feeling. BRAVO... BRAVO. Thank-you for this legacy.

A still young Ms. Du Pre's farewell concert in Toronto was unforgettable. I still recall the flaming red gown she wore and the long hair, which was her trademark, not to mention the spellbinding performance she gave that evening.

Utter genius - nothing more to say.....there will never be anything like her again.

I have never seen her perform at length, she truly was special, every emotion translates through her heart onto the strings.

this is imho the most passionate recording of this concerto ever - i don't know if the marvelous, ingenious, etc Jacqueline expressed her problems with MS - but sorrow, rage, anger are so physical - and desperate and forlorn hope. This Recording belongs to the Heritage of Humankind!

We are in 2023, I remember clearly this concert in 1968. The emotion listening to this magical piece of music played by a magician cello player bring tears as it did the first time I heard this work. I like to think that the sound waves continue travelling through space for ever. Jaqueline du Pré and Barenboim formed a beautiful and powerful duet.

Jacquelines Wiedergabe des Dvorak-Konzerts erscheint mir immer noch als ein einziges Wunder.

the cello becomes a flawless jewel in her hands and both shine so brilliantly! Thank s

She was born for cello! What gifted! This is the most emotional and touching performance! So sad she could not live longer.

Can we all agree that ads on a music video is a bad thing that should be banned and inform Google about it.

This was recorded in 1968 when she was 23 years old, 3 years before she developed multiple sclerosis from which she died in 1987. It was a short life but brought unspeakable joy to many.

Jacqueline! A once in a lifetime artist. So very young. So very brilliant. Such an incredible contribution in such a short time. Her personal life is heartbreaking. What an astonishingly beautiful talent. DuPré lives forever!

We miss you Jacqueline! I’m a pianist.. but in my eyes.. the greatest musician that ever lived. No note was ever played in vain. The most sincere I have ever heard. ❤️X

She poured her whole blood and soul for this performance.

Goodness, from the second Mrs. du Pre starts playing, the tone of her cello is so distinct from the rest of the orchestra. There is a restrained aggressiveness to it, but even in calmer portions, she plays with a crisp clarity, and almost authority. Her tone is like a battle commander whose voice rises above the sounds of battle, urging his men onward. What a talent. I am so glad she was able to perform in an era with recording.

Her cadenza at 23:55 is just something else. She does play it so perfectly and its so clean. I've never listened to any other cellist play it that good. She is really gifted.

Now I understand what all the hype was about. She is transcendent, mesmerizing. She transcends what the cello is and what it can do. Amazing. Electrifying. She’s a wizard. I’ve never seen her perform before. My God. Transformative

I have spent the whole video crying. The energy and passion that this woman gave off is unmatched or comparable in the world of cellists. Even Rostropovich didn't go that far. The feeling I have had is to have witnessed something that goes beyond life.

I remember well how quickly she rose to her deserved worldwide fame. Her reputation was second to none - and just imagine... it was accomplished in a world without computers, cellphones, Twitter and the like. One of the great gifts bestowed upon the world of music. Like all... I am so glad her recordings live on.

She is considered a top cellist who died at the age of 42. British I can only imagine the years of study that took her to this level of superb musicianship. Really awesome and a great life achievement in my opinion.

I love this lady so much and have for a long time. Her tragic loss was unfair for all of us. She was the greatest cellist performing the greatest cello concerto. After hearing this concerto, Brahms quipped that if he had known that such a great cello concerto could be written, he would have composed one himself.

Jacqueline you bring tears to my eyes! Thats how Divine and Heavenly your playing is on this glorious instrument Cello!

Here’s a really interesting thought. Some of these instruments are hundreds of years old and there would be a lot of cases where the instruments “knew” each other at some time in the past long before today’s musicians ever reunited them. That would make a great subject to research because all the great instruments have a name and that name is a large part of the instrument’s character, not to mention value.

My all-time favorite cello concerto of time eternal! She is a miracle!

One of the greatest cellist in the history. Jacqueline always be loved..

Ms Du Pre died of MS many years ago! This was a great loss to the musical world! The piece is the greatest Cello concerto in all music! The playing is great! Some seem incapable of seeing beauty! What a shame!

I am proud to tell you that I once shared a taxi with her. In Spoleto, Italy on a festival. She plated the cello, I wrote about this event for a Swedish Magazine.

She plays as one possessed, her whole body engaged, she was the music. Too soon taken from us after a cruel illness, she was unique.

I've seen this several times and it always brings both goose bumps and tears every time. She literally plays from her soul.

What a wonderful find! Du Pre's performance of the Elgar concerto knows no equal - in fact, not even the great Rostropovitch comes close! - and this performance of the Dvorak concerto is, for me, second only the immortal Casals recording. What a luck generation we are to have a) miraculous performers, b) miraculous performances - all at the touch of a button and c) kind, selfless individuals who find and download such gems for us. Humble thanks to all.

I remember recording this live with a tape recorder from the TV set. It was a hot evening and I, at the age of 20, was beginning to understand the tragedy of the the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Russians. French friends of mine had escaped from Prague by the last train to the west in August.

Does anybody know the story behind the composition of this concerto? Dvořák was not particularly fond of the concerto form at all, and he was not fond of the cello as an instument in particular. But it was the news of the declining health of the love of his life, Josefina Kounicová, his sister-in-law, what prompted him to choose the instrument that "up high squeals, while down low it growls" and put so much intimate emotion in it with literal quotations of the favourite song of his love "So that my spirit alone" in the second and third movements. He composed the work in New York. Josefine died shortly after his return to Czechia, and Dvořák decided to extend to final movement with 60 additional bars consisting of her favourite melody played up high by the violin (her soul) seconded by the cello (Dvořák's soul). A unique piece of the composer's personal romantism. It is very fitting that Ms Du Pré broke the string in this extremely emotionally charged piece, especially in view of the context - a tribute to the nation that whose backbone was broken again, this time by the Russians (30 years earlier by the Germans with the staffage of the British among others...).

I mean, if aliens ever landed and asked the question "What is music?": Listen to Jacqueline du Pre. She is an absolute artist. Technique isn't even a consideration - note her unbelievably daring fingerings - and her singing tone. Its like a great mezzo soprano singing through the cello.

I’ve known this recording for many years - more than thirty. I’ve had so many emotions listening to it, as a musician, a cellist, an artist, as a woman...this is the first time I’ve seen video images! It was deeply moving to watch what I am so familiar with. I didn’t know about the string break until tonight. It was edited out of the recording. I’m amazed and without words to describe how it moves me. Thanks so much for posting this. 💗❤️💗

Happy birthday to one of the greatest cellists of all time Jacqueline du Pré born January 26 1945... gifted beyond words...

She consumes the instrument, and becomes the instrument. A transcendental fusion.

The apogee and decline of her career, due to illness, are heart-rending. I lived for some years in the flat she used to occupy, rue du Mont Cenis, in Montmartre. I am thankful I didn’t know that until months before I moved on - the burden would have been haunting. The conductor (husband) too reflects an era where conductors were not too absorbed with vanity and self-worship to actually give the musicians meaningful tempo indications!

She will not be forgotten. This special sound of Ms du Pre playing the cello is on my mind since I listened to her as a girl on air - now 70 years old I still miss to have had the chance to attend a concert personally.

What a supreme artist she was…❤️

She is just out of this world, magical, best of the best

Какие были времена ! Баренбойм эмоционально дирижировал, в оркестре одни мужчины и фантастическая Жаклин без гримас, кривляния, вычурного раскачивания - воплощение музыкальности, а не позёрства ! Браво !

Her sound and power are absolutely incredible

I am thankful that the recording equipment (audio and visual) and technicians of the day did a fabulous job at capturing these beautiful moments.

Thank you so much for this post. I was five months old when this recording was made, and here I am some 50 years later crying like a 5 month old baby. The irony...

Astounding in every way, a gift from the Gods ,

It’s difficult not to become emotional about this.

As a child I was ill. I put this CD in my player and listened to it on loop. I fell asleep and when I woke up I was healthy again. True story. Listening to this since over 20 years now and still love it deeply and it is music on another league for me.

When you hear the way she plays she is the most beautiful female in the world. this is just magic !!! Bravo Ms du Pre !!

She is astonishing. I don't know enough about music and musicians but her touch is so distinctively warm, fluent and captivating.

Listen to her playing never gets old or enought. She playing this is one of the most moving things to a cellist.

She was a true heroine to me. A superb woman of musical genius- then she was so cruelly taken away from us so young. A beautiful upload. Many thanks for presenting this.

No one has ever played like this.

Amazing. My favorite cello concerto and she brilliantly honors him. Too young; too young.

Indeed , Jaqueline from the Heavens !!!! I cry allways I listen to her !!!!

Superlative! She would be now 74 and still playing.

Astonishing! I am so thrilled to see and hear this recording! I have loved this cello concerto since I was a young boy (when I played the cello for a few years, but never well enough to play this piece LOL). I had never known until this moment that a video recording existed of Jacqueline Du Pre performing it! I'm so glad she and Barenboim celebrated the courage and resilience of the Czech and Slovak people in 1968 at a moment when they were facing aggression comparable to that which the Ukrainian people are now facing (though Ukrainians tragically are now suffering far worse).

She was taken too soon…. But her playing forever remains ❤

This recording is a treasure!

In London we can never forget R. Browning's immortal lines: "Better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at ALL!" Although I have played the violin most of my life, about a year ago when I acquired my first cello, I discovered this 1968 recording, which warmed my heart. A woman, whose name I do not recall, declared that Mrs. Duprès' talent can only be God-given, a claim that I shall never deny. You see her love for her music, her instrument and humanity in her eyes fixed on her fluid bow and every strand of gracious hair that exudes from her halo. Later I saw a documentary on her untimely passing. This Sunday morning, in the midst of an international pandemic, I prepare to listen to this breathtaking recording again! Shalom. Ironically, in the mid-80s I started volunteering to treat PT patients and my first candidate was a middle-aged lady with the same diagnosis as our treasured cellist. I have designed music therapy and wheel-chair soccer to treat paralyzed children in Germany. As I am only 71 years old, I am considering completing a degree program in music therapy in Belgium, a country where the Nazis destroyed the Jewish school and its students in Brussels.

String breaks at 29:36 beautiful performance. Professionally handled. Du Pre is the best.

I have been listening to a recording of this for 30 years and today RU-vid suddenly decided to show me what it was like..... I am speechless..... Probably the recording I have already edited the broken string incident.. If not, probably the one I have was a recording in the studio? It was the same piece with Daniel and London sym orchestra...No matter what, it is amazing

I never tire of hearing this piece. Of course, I never tire of hearing just about anything written by Dvorak.

In my mind there is no greater cellist. I was in love with her for as long as I could remember. I don't think anyone loved her music and herself as much as I did.

Gone but not forgotten, what a beautiful performance.

Jacqueline Du Pré interprète magnifiquement le concerto de Dvorak au violoncelle. C'est un concerto qui est extrêmement difficile et Jacqueline Du Pré le joue magnifiquement bien !...

Wow! How did those bow strings survive her opening assault on that cello? This is the liveliest, most moving version of this work on RU-vid.

Priceless performance. What else can one ask for... Antonin Dvorak, Jacqueline du Pre, Daniel Barenboim, LSO, Royal Albert Hall and the enchanting sound of the oboe which is that of Anthony Camden. A treasure indeed.

It may be redundant to say this but what a talent Jackie had. And with Barenboim and the LSO on board, we are sure of a great performance. Instead, we got the greatest, one that will possibly never be matched. Thank you for posting.

Toda ella, con virtuosismo, su pasión extrema, su alma entregada, esparcida cómo polen por todo el teatro... Y pasan los años y los que heredamos la tierra la seguiremos reverenciando.!!! ETERNA!!

I haven’t heard much cello, other than from high-school orchestra… this is absolutely marvelous. The playing, expression shows the years of mastery and obsession. Insane

She brings tears to my eyes with her incredible interpretation of this cello concerto. She died much too young, she could have brought so much more joy to the classical music world with her unbelievable talent!

We couldn't survive without music such as this...

Saw her at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh Concert 1968, she was so intense attacking her Cello she broke a string, such a talent.

The most talented cellist in my opinion.