REMEMBERED AS BEING REMEMBERED Exclusive
With only 28, Jacqueline du Pré wasn't able to play anymore. Her diagnosis was multiple sclerosis. She died 1987, at the age of 42. After 14 years of progressive physical decline.
Du Pre was one of the biggest musicians of the 20th century. A wonder for classical music. And a world star.
2026
Despite her short career, Jacqueline du Pré is still considered by music connoisseurs to be one of the greatest cellists of all time. Unfortunately, the artist was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of only 28. The disease robbed her of her ability to play music, forced her to give up her career, and condemned her to fourteen years of suffering. But during her ten years of international concert activity, the music world was at her feet. Her expressive style captivated everyone who had the privilege of experiencing her.
The admiration for Jacqueline du Pré and the fascination of watching her play the cello remain unbroken even almost forty years after her death in 1987.
Who was Jacqueline du Pré, and what made her such an extraordinary character?
Jackie „Smiley“ du Pré is remembered as she is being remembered - a virtuous, a genius, but it is her unavoidably pure and humble character that overcame her lifetime and made the legend.
Yo-Yo Ma is playing her Dawidow-Cello made in 1712 since 1983 until today. (About du Pré) he once opened: "Often we use the term genius to describe something that we don't quite understand". "Because her story is so unusual and her gift so unexplainable, she remains a vibrant figure in the public imagination, with levels of affection given to very, very few... and, of course, because her life ended in such unimaginable tragedy."
Jacqueline du Pré on travel, © Courtesy of BBC
"Jacqueline du Pre was like none other. The problem when one talks about her, there is no comparative figures, you see. Musically, cellistically, or as a personality. A creature beyond words", says Toby Perlman, founder of the Perlman Music Program.
"In some ways she was the most amazing person I knew - simple, open, loving. Most of the time she was playing from her stomach", Pinas Zukerman.
She played with an incorruptible honesty, from earthy exuberance to the highest flights and the most moving depths of great music. Touched our hearts in ways that cannot be forgotten, and left us with the impression that something remains forever between our world and the eternal.
Britannica Editors (n.d.) Jacqueline du Pré. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacqueline-du-Pre (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Jewish Women’s Archive (n.d.) Jacqueline du Pré. Available at: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/du-pre-jacqueline(Accessed: 2 January 2026).
PBS (2025) Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy [TV documentary]. Narrated by Yo-Yo Ma. Public Broadcasting Service. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/video/jacqueline-du-pre-genius-and-tragedy-6bgci0 (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Smull, J.L. (2023) Jacqueline du Pré. EBSCO Research Starters. Available at: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/jacqueline-du-pre (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
The Strad (n.d.) Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta remember Jacqueline du Pré. Available at: https://www.thestrad.com/playing-hub/pinchas-zukerman-and-zubin-mehta-remember-jacqueline-du-pre/13765.article(Accessed: 2 January 2026).
WOUB Public Media (2025) The story of an enigmatic genius and one of the greatest cellists of all time in “Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy”, 22 March. Available at: https://woub.org/2025/03/22/the-story-of-an-enigmatic-genius-and-one-of-the-greatest-cellists-of-all-time-in-jacqueline-du-pre-genius-and-tragedy-march-28-at-9pm (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Jewish Renaissance (n.d.) Sixty years on from her Royal Festival Hall debut, du Pré still shines. Available at: https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/blog/sixty-years-on-from-her-rfh-debut-du-pre-still-shines (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Jewish Women’s Archive (n.d.) Jacqueline du Pré. Available at: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/du-pre-jacqueline(Accessed: 2 January 2026).
PBS (2025) Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy [TV documentary]. Narrated by Yo-Yo Ma. Public Broadcasting Service. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/video/jacqueline-du-pre-genius-and-tragedy-6bgci0 (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Smull, J.L. (2023) Jacqueline du Pré. EBSCO Research Starters. Available at: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/jacqueline-du-pre (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
The Strad (n.d.) Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta remember Jacqueline du Pré. Available at: https://www.thestrad.com/playing-hub/pinchas-zukerman-and-zubin-mehta-remember-jacqueline-du-pre/13765.article(Accessed: 2 January 2026).
WOUB Public Media (2025) The story of an enigmatic genius and one of the greatest cellists of all time in “Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy”, 22 March. Available at: https://woub.org/2025/03/22/the-story-of-an-enigmatic-genius-and-one-of-the-greatest-cellists-of-all-time-in-jacqueline-du-pre-genius-and-tragedy-march-28-at-9pm (Accessed: 2 January 2026).
Jewish Renaissance (n.d.) Sixty years on from her Royal Festival Hall debut, du Pré still shines. Available at: https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/blog/sixty-years-on-from-her-rfh-debut-du-pre-still-shines (Accessed: 2 January 2026).