At the risk of sounding like I’m shilling for yet another PBS show, I highly recommend Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy currently on PBS. Narrator Yo-Yo Ma describes du Pré as the “greatest instrumentalist of the 20th century.” While obviously a debatable opinion, her virtuosity on the cello is not. Some of the descriptions of her and her playing by commentators in the movie such as Ma, Itzhak Perlman, William Pleeth, Pinchas Zukerman and others repeatedly include exuberant, genius, and virtuosity. Early in the film Ma notes, “Because her story is so unusual, and her gift so unexplainable, she remains a vibrant figure in the public imagination.”

At the height of her fame, du Pré stopped playing the cello at the age of 28 with her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and she died 14 years later in 1987. The film doesn’t dwell too much on the tragedy part of her story, spending more time on her upbringing and the career that she was able to achieve during her brief time on the stage. The film may be a little too worshipful at times and definitely free of gossip (such as the alleged affair with her sister’s husband, alluded to in press clippings shown), but given the amount of footage of her playing I could live with the exuberant praise.

One of the things I liked most was showing clips of performances that you can look up online, such as Schubert’s “Trout” quintet of du Pré, Daniel Barenboim (pianist and husband), Zukerman (viola), Zubin Mehta (bass), and Perlman (violin). They were dubbed the “Rat Pack” of classical music of that period. My favorite moments, though, were the whimsical clips such as her improvisation (vocal and instrumental) on a train or watching her and Perlman play after swapping instruments.