Even today, there are music lovers out there who get wet-eyed over the thought of cellist
Jacqueline du Pré. Who can blame them? Not only was she a stupendous virtuoso, she had a warm-hearted tone and a strong-muscled style. Few listeners can deny that
du Pré's recordings of the
Elgar Concerto and the
Dvorák Concerto are among the most affecting ever made. There are some listeners, however, who have taken issue with her chamber music playing. While most admire her partnership with her husband and accompanist
Daniel Barenboim for its passionate involvement and effortless intensity, there are still some listeners who wonder if perhaps
du Pré and
Barenboim do not bring a bit too much passionate intensity to all of the chamber music they recorded. Some listeners, for example, have always held that their recording of
Beethoven's Sonatas and Variations for cello and piano were a bit over-done. Some say that
du Pré leaned into her bow so hard in the lyrical lines of the Sonatas, Op. 5, that its hair frayed and split. Others say that
Barenboim pressed so deep into the keys in the knotty counterpoint of the Sontatas Op. 102, that they splintered and broke. While some argue that
Beethoven's Variations on Handel's "See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" are well-matched by
du Pré and
Barenboim's imperious interpretations, others suggest that
Beethoven's two sets of Variations on Themes from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte are ill-suited to their ardent enthusiasm. For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they'll like. The rest will be able to take it or leave it. In EMI's stereo sound,
du Pré and
Barenboim sound just about but not quite in the same room with the listener.