JACQUELINE du PRE 
Extraordinary Australian Cellist (who died too young)
“Her 1962 debut was a swansong of rare and vanishing beauty.” Jewish Renaissance org.
Since I named this blog “Women Rock. Statues and the Stories they Tell,” you’d think I’d capitalize on the “women rock” angle. But you’d be wrong. Ms. Du Pre is only the second women with a musical pedigree highlighted in this blog. I featured the indubitable Tina Turner and instead of singing her praises, many people complained about how awful the bronzed statue made her look. Sigh. Luckily, Jacqueline’s statute is as lovely and inviting as she was in person.
Born in Randwick, Australia Jackie’s excitement over the cello and its wonderful melodies, kicked in at age eight. And after only nine years of extensive training, hours of practice and exhaustive rehearsals, she debuted at one of the most prestigious venues: Wigmore Hall in London. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline wowed the audience with her exuberant performance and her infectious joy. According to Mr. Barenboim, an Israeli pianist and her future husband (whom she wed at age 22), Jackie was so emotionally carefree that people wished they could capture but didn’t quite manage to do so.”
“Art can have powerful effects on people and can help educate, inspire and stimulate creativity.” (randwicknsw.gov)
Music is an art that allows the arrangement of sounds and silences to combine with melody, harmony and rhythm to produce form, beauty and emotional expression. Emotional expression is the area in which Jacquline shined. She played the cello, which is often known as the tenor of the string section, with bliss, gleeful abandon and freedom from constraint, all of which elevated her performances to that of a virtuoso. Playing the cello isn’t easy. Ask Yo-Yo Ma. First off, you’re in a seated position with a large instrument straddled between your legs, while manipulating strings and simultaneously holding a bow in the right-hand as your left-hand fiddles with a fingerboard. Strength, agility and dexterity along with precise timing are needed. Jackie possessed all these skills, and more.
Until she didn’t. In 1971, Jackie lost sensitivity in her fingers which impacted her performances, but it wasn’t until 1973 when she received a diagnosis of Multiple Scoliosis (MS) which ultimately led to the termination of her professional career. However, Jackie was able to teach music until her MS progressed. Sadly, her swansong played its last note at the age of 41.
But that’s not where her story stopped. She was never forgotten, mainly due to a bunch of film makers, documentarians, writers, financial bankers who continued to tell her story in a variety of ways. The Music & Opera Singers Trust commissioned a statue of her and in 2018 and it was finally unveiled in Kensington Park Community Center in Sydney park, Australia. Sculptor Marin Cherina, created a life-sized bronze statue of Jacqueline doing what she did best, playing the cello with an abundance of joy. Visitors to the garden where she is erected are invited to sit for a while so they can find the peace that resides in their soul. I might bring a headset so I could listen to one of her performances as I honor her memory.
You can also check out an array of YouTube videos and movies such as Hilary and Jackie; A Swan Song of Rare and Vanishing Beauty and a PBS documentary, Jacquelien du Pre: A Genius and Tragedy. I suppose you could look at her life as a tragedy because of her untimely death, but even though she lived a short life she brought more joy to the masses than most of will do in our lifetime. Don’t leave out these two non-fiction books: Jacquline du Pre: Her Life. Her Music. Her Legend by E. Wilson and Jacquline du Pre: A Biography be C. Easton
Rock on Jacqueline. I’m honored to include you in my Monuments of the Matriarchy parade. Travel down the road with us as we continue to dot the landscape with remarkable women, full of fabulous faces of feminist freedom.
