Tag: Jacqueline Du Pre

Title: Jacqueline du Pré – The Great Cello Concertos (Remastered) [4 SACDs] (2025)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

This boxed set presents for the first time in Hybrid SACD format the greatest cello concertos by the greatest cellist in history, Jacqueline du Pré, in the very recent HD remasterings made from the original tapes and specially adapted for SACD.

hraudio | allmusic | discogs

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Title: Jacqueline du Pre – Elgar, Delius: Cello Concertos (1965/2012) [EMI Classics’ Remaster 2011]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The Signature Collection is a brand new series from EMI Classics featuring the finest catalog recordings released for the first time ever in high resolution format. The expert engineers at Abbey Road Studios who remastered the original EMI recordings for Hybrid Super Audio CD series have breathed new life into these iconic catalog recordings. Each title in the Signature Collection is beautifully presented in a full-color illustrated hardback book. The liner notes explore mot only the rich music but also the story behind original LP covers. Also included are never before seen photographs of the original master tapes.
Jacqueline du Pre’s recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra is widely recognized as the definitive recording of the Elgar, the one against which all others are measured. Du Pre’s career was cut tragically short by Multiple Sclerosis, forcing her to quit performing in 1973. She died in 1987 at age 42. She was married to the famous conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim. Du Pre was known for her aggressive playing style and flawless technique. Thanks in large measure to EMI, there are a goodly number of du Pre recordings still in circulation, some of which feature both du Pre and Barenboim. The EMI Signature Series CD being reviewed here lives up to Du Pre’s advance billing as one of the most stunningly gifted musical artists of our time, and it showcases the Elgar, as, indeed it should. There is a reason this performance is famous. Du Pre’s Elgar is one of those rare performances that you can listen to a thousand times and never tire of it, a truly wonderful listening experience. Not adding this CD to your library would be a major omission. — customer’s review at amazon.com

hraudio | allmusic | discogs

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Title: Jacqueline Du Pre – Dvorak & Elgar: Cello Concertos (1971+65) [Japan 2018]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

At a young age, cellist Jacqueline du Pre achieved mainstream popularity. She is regarded as one of the most distinctive cellists of the last half of the 20th century. Her career was cut short by a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis which stopped her performances at the age of 27. This Japanese SACD reissue from 2018 combines Dvorak’s Cello Concerto In B Minor from 1970 (as well with the additional piece of music “Silent Woods”) and a gut-wrenching performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor from 1965 (as well with the additional pieces of “Sea Pictures”).

HRAudio.net review: This seems to be a straight reissue of UPC 4943674173556, which was remastered in 2011 and UPC 4988006887916 (for the Elgar pieces), combined into a single disc. The sound of the Elgar concerto and of Sea Pictures is excellent and I would recommend the SACD upgrade if one already has the Red Book version. The Dvořák concerto, on the other hand, has always been recognized as a recording with major sonic issues, the biggest problem being the balance between the solo cello and the orchestra. I don’t own a Red Book version of this one, so I can’t make a Red Book-SACD comparison. I can say, however, that it still sounds rather poor on SACD. It unfortunately seems to be one of those recordings that no amount of remastering and resolution can save. Of course, I am only reviewing the sonics here! The actual performances are excellent; Jacqueline du Pré’s playing on the Elgar concerto, in particular, is absolutely wondrous.

hraudio 

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