Jacqueline du Pre: documentary & performance, BBC 4

[gurnemanz]

When the soviet tanks rolled in I was attending an international conference on low temperature physics at St Andrews (as a post grad). There were physicists from all over the world, including a strong Russian contingent. Suddenly a great many of the attendees began wearing pin badges which some enterprising soul had produced. They displayed a single word - "Dubcek".

I found it very moving.

Prompts another 1968 reminiscence. In August 1968 having just completed our first year as undergraduates I was with some friends on a camping holiday around the Northern Adriatic. We had heard about the Prague invasion via rather fragile portable radio reception. One day we decided to take the ferry across the bay over to Venice. We saw a newspaper headline "Dubcek assassinato!" - which of course turned out to be not true. It was rather hard to know what was actually happening. One evening we were camped on a beach at Jesolo and tuned to Radio Luxembourg .... 'and now the new Beatles single'. We sat there staring out at the phosphorescent waves and listened for the first time to the momentous Hey Jude.

[Serial_Apologist]

Prompts another 1968 reminiscence. In August 1968 having just completed our first year as undergraduates I was with some friends on a camping holiday around the Northern Adriatic. We had heard about the Prague invasion via rather fragile portable radio reception. One day we decided to take the ferry across the bay over to Venice. We saw a newspaper headline "Dubcek assassinato!" - which of course turned out to be not true. It was rather hard to know what was actually happening. One evening we were camped on a beach at Jesolo and tuned to Radio Luxembourg .... 'and now the new Beatles single'. We sat there staring out at the phosphorescent waves and listened for the first time to the momentous Hey Jude.

I feel exceptionally lucky to have lived through that time as a young man: experiences which have shaped and stayed with me.

[Conchis]

I feel exceptionally lucky to have lived through that time as a young man: experiences which have shaped and stayed with me.

I do envy people of your generation.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I did see JDuP performing the Elgar with Barbirolli in Manchester in the late 1960s. It was one of those occasions that one can never forget.

[Barbirollians]

I did see JDuP performing the Elgar with Barbirolli in Manchester in the late 1960s. It was one of those occasions that one can never forget.

I envy you any Barbirolli concert you attended EA ! Bruckner in Sheffield , Oistrakh in the Beethoven and J du P in the Elgar .

Barbirolli was a great Dvorak conductor as his peerless Pre Dvorak 8 shows . I just wish she had recorded the concerto with him in 1967 rather than Barenboim in 1970 when undiagnosed MS was already having an effect on her playing .

[Barbirollians]

Watched it again tonight but diverted the audio to speakers via Airport Express - comes over with even more immediacy and du Pre's playing greatly enhanced and is that Jack Brymer so wonderful on the clarinet .

[Richard Tarleton]

Watched it again tonight but diverted the audio to speakers via Airport Express - comes over with even more immediacy and du Pre's playing greatly enhanced and is that Jack Brymer so wonderful on the clarinet .

Ah! That didn't click. I was trying to spot other orchestra members - DB talking to John Georgiadis while the string was being replaced, Previn's future nemesis Howard Snell on trumpet.....

I listened via my satellite dish/amp/speakers but didn't think much of the sound, I don't think I'd have bothered listening for long in sound only. This must have been around the time the mushrooms were installed - were they in place? I don't know what difference they made to recordings.

I was intrigued by her vibrato action, which seemed quite extreme at times - she seemed to be almost boring a hole in the fingerboard in upper positions. But overall her body language was relatively restrained, from what I remember.

[Hornspieler]

Ah! That didn't click. I was trying to spot other orchestra members - DB talking to John Georgiadis while the string was being replaced, Previn's future nemesis Howard Snell on trumpet.....

I listened via my satellite dish/amp/speakers but didn't think much of the sound, I don't think I'd have bothered listening for long in sound only. This must have been around the time the mushrooms were installed - were they in place? I don't know what difference they made to recordings.

I was intrigued by her vibrato action, which seemed quite extreme at times - she seemed to be almost boring a hole in the fingerboard in upper positions. But overall her body language was relatively restrained, from what I remember.

If only she would stop tossing her hair about.

Sitting behind her, it was very distracting - especially if she was directly in line with the conductor.

Jacquie's sister, Hilary, was a very accomplished flautist, but she disappeared; following a scandalous rumour about a certain relationship.

No names - no pack drill!

...sorry I spoke.

[Bryn]

Ah! That didn't click. I was trying to spot other orchestra members - DB talking to John Georgiadis while the string was being replaced, Previn's future nemesis Howard Snell on trumpet.....

I listened via my satellite dish/amp/speakers but didn't think much of the sound, I don't think I'd have bothered listening for long in sound only. This must have been around the time the mushrooms were installed - were they in place? I don't know what difference they made to recordings.

I was intrigued by her vibrato action, which seemed quite extreme at times - she seemed to be almost boring a hole in the fingerboard in upper positions. But overall her body language was relatively restrained, from what I remember.

The concert was in the year prior to the initial installation of the 'mushrooms' (there were later tweaks to further improve the acoustics in 2001).

[Barbirollians]

Yes much more restrained than in some films of her but frankly unlike some it has never bothered me at all .

[Zucchini]

Barenboim/WEDO at RFH last night & today (Sun) for MS Society & tribute to Du Pre with 25yr old Kian Soltani as soloist in Don Quixote

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/29/west-eastern-divan-orchestra-daniel-barenboim-review-royal-festival-hall

On R3 Mon 30

[Barbirollians]

Her Don Quixote really is remarkable as it was no more than a recorded rehearsal for a concert after Klemperer pulled out of a recording . Bizarre they did not try and salvage a recording when Boult was able to step in . It is a terrific account despite the fact it was recorded on a whim .

I suppose they al thought they had all the time in the world to record Du Pre .

10 years ago Radio 3 played some more of her off record accounts including a remarkable Shostakovich 1 with Hugo Rignold and the CBSO apparently the only time she ever played it.

[Richard Tarleton]

As I understood it from Elizabeth Wilson's biography du Pre recognised his career had to continue.

Just finished reading this. An exemplary biography at all levels.

[Barbirollians]

A bit of Dvorak overload but watched this again tonight - as wonderful as Weilerstein was du Pre matched her in every department and there are depths to the slow movement on this film that Weilerstein did not quite produce. Then of course the 1968 occasion was extraordinary.