Passionately in Love with the Cello

Author: Dupré
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-08-01
Features: This is a book about music, growth, and family. Jacqueline Dupré (1945—1987), a towering figure in 20th-century music, was inevitably included in every comprehensive music biography: a British cellist who demonstrated extraordinary talent from the age of five. At 16, she began her career, and the gap between her talent and age left everyone awestruck. In 1973, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, forcing her to leave the stage and pass away in the prime of her life. Flowers and misfortune simultaneously descended upon this once ordinary family. This person born for music not only failed to escape the shadows of her own personality but also harmed her closest loved ones: her reliance on her mother turned into hostility, her cruelty toward her brother, and even her "illicit affair" with her brother-in-law, depriving her sister of the ordinary happiness she deserved. For her sister Hillary and brother Pierce, the pain was too deep to be expressed in words, far beyond a mere sigh. It wasn’t until more than a decade had passed, with time creating a perfect distance from the past, that they gathered the courage to break free from the nightmare, leading to this co-authored biography. Those fortunate enough to witness the tragedy and sorrow behind the magnificent scenes may prefer to reduce their own joy in art by a fraction, so that the world can have one more lovable person and her family.