Historia de jacqueline du pre biography

There are two major biographies of Jacqueline du Pre, the cello genius whose performing career essentially ended at age 28, and I wanted to compare what a biographer had to offer with what Jackie’s sister and brother wrote in “A Genius in the Family”.

This book provided a comprehensive record of all the concerts and music Jackie played over the course of her short career, and it quoted heavily from some of the people in her life - virtually all of it in an adulating manner - but it did not mention a peep about Jackie’s sojourn with her sister Hilary’s family and the relationship she had with her sister’s husband. Jackie’s husband, sister and brother declined to be interviewed for this book. Nonetheless, I was surprised that almost no mention at all was given to Hilary or Piers and their relationship with Jackie, while the book written by them details considerable off-and-on again communications. It was a strange disconnect.

Nor does this book explain why Jackie turned against her parents later in her life in a very unpleasant manner. It seems to me that her parents did all they could to accommodate her genius talent. Perhaps that book would have to come from her analyst whom she saw several days a week for years until the very end

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