Customer Reviews

Favourite Cello Concertos

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

My first exposure to Jacqueline Du Pre's gifts came with a listening to the Dvorak Cello Concerto in B Minor, with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony. My wife often listened to this piece at work, and chanced to bring it home one night. What a truly moving piece of work! I agree with critic Peter Gammond, who said that this version of the Dvorak Concerto almost gives one a "physical shock" upon first listening. Du Pre played the cello with more drama, more deeply felt emotion, than anyone else I've heard. While driving in the car one day, the Dvorak concerto came on the radio, played by a different musician. It was pointed out to me that this was the same composition on the Du Pre recording, and I could scarcely believe it! In contrast to Du Pre, the music sounded flat, unisprired, even plodding. The other works on this disc are equallly impressive. If you like the cello, and feel that it is meant to convey a sense of dramatic tension from the heart, then this is a collection you most certainly will want to enjoy again and again. It is a tragedy that Du Pre left the world at age 28, but her talent, fortunately, still shines on for many of us.

For anyone unfamiliar with the late Jacqueline DuPre, this compilation will be a treat, as it is her at the peak of her genius, the ultimate height of her skills, showcasing her amazing dexterity, and,most importantly, her abilty to project emotion and sensitivity in her playing, relying upon her unerring interpretative powers to wring the full spectrum of emotions from her instrument to add life to the composition.

In her all-too-brief career, she managed to record not only the "core"(central) material, but experimented with new compositions as well. Mention here should be made of the equally incomparable skill of her husband Daniel Barenboim who conducts as well as accompanies her on the discs. Together they were known as music's "Golden Couple" and listening to them, you can certainly hear why that title was bestowed upon them.

Even if you're not a DuPre fan, but love the cello, this set is definitely one of the best recordings I've ever heard. The Hayden Concerto in C is brought forth with a joyous opening, DuPre playing with straight-forward conviction, the tone colors emanating proudly and powerfully over a full symphony orchestra. From there, prepare to listen to some of the best interpretations of the Masters you've ever heard!

If I could only take one classical cd collection to a desert island, it would be Heifetz' "Concerto Collection." But if I could take a second such colletion, this set would get the nod, and the decision would be neither difficult nor time-consuming.

There is very powerful material on the first two cd's, but it is the third cd to which I invariably find myself drawn. Dvorak and Elgar. Could it get any better? Not for me.

I realize Dvorak's concerto is considered the masterpiece of its genre, much like Beethoven's violin concerto is. I agree that Beethoven's violin concerto is a sui generis masterpiece, but as much as I love Dvorak's cello concerto, the Elgar concerto is my favorite composition in this collection. Apparently I am not alone in that view, since it dominated the musical background in the unfortunately Dupre-bashing movie "Hillary and Jackie."

If you like Dupre's music, or if you simply like great cello music, buy this collection. You will not regret your decision.

Jim F.

I was moved to add comment after reading several of Octavius' strongly worded, biased and repetitive reviews here at Amazon. His suggestion that it was schizophrenia that led to Du Pre's early withdrawal from the concert platform and untimely death is just plain wrong if not libellous!! The poor woman developed multiple sclerosis and was one of the rare ones in whom it proved to be fatal. Yes she did study with Rostropovich in Russia in 1966 but became extremely homesick. It should be added that she also attended masterclasses with Casals but regarded William Pleeth as her "cello daddy". Her words, not mine.

No complaint about the performance.

But the recoding or A->D conversion somewhere went terribly wrong. The dynamic range seems set very low therefore the loud part of the music gets 'clipping'. For example, Disk 3, Track 1, between 0:40 to 1:10, you can clearly hear the distortion noise at the high level of the music (not your playback volume).

What a pity, the recoding engineers simply not up to the job and ruined such a fine performance!

UNTIL I was fortunate enough to have heard them performed by Jacqueline du Pre!!!
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! Her superb playing, along with truly masterful
interpretative skills, just "comes pouring out of the speakers!"
Also, the orchestras were obviously truly inspired by these opportunities to perform and record with one of the greatest musicians of all time.
The sound quality is excellent, as is the separation and clarity of both the soloist's and orchestral performances. The overall dynanism is also top notch - I found I had to lower the volume substantially from my normal
system loudness levels.
I've enjoyed this set so much I'll probably wind up buying everything from Amazon that EMI has produced with Jacqueline du Pre's name on it!

The choice of concertos is excellent and the artistry of Jacqueline du Pre is exceptional. The Schumann and Saint-Saens works are truly beautiful.

The album is a fitting tribute to the tragic loss of an incredible young talent.

This is one of my favorite concerto collections for cello. The passion the duPre brings to the music is breathtaking. I would recommend this collection for anyone. You will not be disappointed!

This is a wonderful collection of Jacqueline du Pre's work, both because it traces her development as an artist, her unique interaction with various conductors and her interpretations of a variety of composers. Jacueline du Pre is a cellist for all time.

I love this CD. It came extremely fast to NZ and a bonus too as I was expecting only one cd not three!
While Dvorak is currently my favourite, other composers featured here have been growing on me.
Never been a Cello devotee in the past, but I am enjoying this new phase of my musical listening.
The late Ms du Pre plays with vigor and assertiveness, yet manages to convey those moving and sublime moments when needed.
Most enjoyable. Thanky you