We'll never let you down: tribute to legendary cellist Jacqueline Du Pré

In 1987, British cello legend Jacqueline Du Pré succumbed to multiple sclerosis, aged 42. Although she had not played concerts for 15 years, a wave of grief washed over the world. In her short career, she had achieved more than many a musician in his or her entire life. She played on all the famous stages, was married to Daniel Barenboim and worked with the greatest conductors and orchestras. On 7 November, November Music will honour her with the opera We'll never let you down from Stichting Cellosonate Nederland and OT-rotterdam.

With her swishing long hair and intense playing, Jacqueline Du Pré enchanted everyone's heart. According to many, she played 'as if she were making love'. In the short period she performed, she inspired none other than Prince Charles to also take up the cello. But though the world was at her feet, star power was foreign to her. She was a crowd favourite and was also held in the hands of those behind the scenes.

For instance, recording engineer Suvi Raj wrote in 1983: 'Everyone adored her: the musicians who played with her, the conductor, but also the recording engineers. She was the ideal artist: she never made demands and always complied with our wishes. - No matter how long it sometimes took us to get a microphone right. She is one of the three musicians about whom I never heard an unkind word.'

Blazon tarnished

That changed when in 1997 A genius in the family: an intimate memoir of Jacqueline du Pré appeared. In it, Hilary and Piers Du Pré described their famous sister's less attractive sides and alleged sex hunger. For instance, Jacqueline allegedly claimed Hilary's husband and shared bed with him for a year and a half. The book caused a stir, as did the film adaptation Hilary and Jackie from 1998. Brother and sister were accused of jealousy and sensationalism by musicians who had been close to her. Their book was also found to contain numerous errors. Yet the blazon of the almost canonised Jacqueline was forever tarnished.

Over two decades later, cellist Doris Hochscheid, baritone Mattijs van de Woerd and pianist Frans van Ruth are leaping to her defence with the mini-opera We'll never let you down. Surinamese Jewish composer René Samson (1948-2019) had been recruited for the music but died prematurely after completing one act. The opera was completed by the young composers Mathilde Wantenaar and Max Knigge. Doris Hochscheid explains why this opera had to be made and why she asked René Samson to compose the music.

Musician and human being

'I have known René Samson since the late 1990s, when hardly anyone knew him as a composer. Together with pianist Frans van Ruth and violinist Jacobien Rozemond, with whom I formed a piano trio at the time, we discovered him. His music immediately convinced us because of its uniqueness; it touched me. After this first encounter, Frans and I immediately asked him to write a piece for us. That became the Cello Sonata, then many chamber music pieces followed.'

'René was very pleasant to work with. He presented himself modestly, but you felt he had something substantial to say. His music always moves me. I hear him in it not only as a musician, but also as a human being. How he was searching and trying to relate to the great composers of the past. At the same time, he struggled with the compulsion for innovation imposed by the modernists, which more living composers experienced. René sought his way in this in a very individual way.'

'Like when we first talked about a theatrical project. He had the idea of choosing a line-up of baritone, trombone, harp and cello and I asked him why. "I finally want to break away from those traditional instrumentations," he replied. But once Jacqueline du Pré was chosen, he came back to that. He thought the line-up of cello and piano was more appropriate. We laughed about that, like "nothing again, well next time let's have the trombone and harp". So unfortunately that didn't happen again.

Playing the cello and acting

At We'll never let you down you not only play the cello, but also act. Was that your own wish?

'It's not like I thought: come, let me go into acting. In the past few years, I've worked a lot on musical theatre productions. While I found that super fun, it was also very unsatisfying. The music too often only serves to support the story. Even if the musicians wear nice costumes and sit on stage instead of in the box, they are ultimately glorified props. Though they produce sound, they do not take part in the action; actors or singers are hired for that. 'I always thought: I want to participate!'

Landed in own body

'On top of that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 and my hectic music practice suddenly came to a halt. Fortunately, I was able to get back on stage a few months later, but something had shifted. I realised that not everything I did always inspired me. It was as if a part of me couldn't quite come into its own. I wanted more space - for myself, my body, my emotions, even on stage. I took acting lessons. That was liberating, because acting really felt like play. I could let my imagination run wild and felt like I had finally "landed" in my own body. Since then, I have become more selective in my choices and make a lot of musical theatre, preferably a bit experimental.'

– Was it your idea to make a chamber opera with René Samson?

'No, that arose by mutual agreement. I had received a development budget from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. My application included a number of pilots to investigate whether certain collaborations would work. With René, I wanted to make something for cello and piano with text, something theatrical. He wanted to write for voice, and suggested Mattijs van de Woerd, whom I did not yet know. Mattijs in turn mentioned Gerrit Timmers and Mirjam Koen of OT-rotterdam. He had previously worked with them at the Reisopera. 'That turned out to be a golden team, it's fun every day during rehearsals!'

Online shaming and fake news

'Gerrit and Mirjam thought of Jacqueline Du Pré as a matter of course. They started reading about her and were gripped by her story - all the crap her family threw at her, which later recurred in the film. At the time, many friends already wound up about it, as can be read in contemporaneous interviews. Moreover, it touches on something current. Nowadays, people are 'shamed' online, gossip is spread without being able to do anything about it. To say nothing of fake news, in which entire population groups are lied to.'

– Do you also have a personal connection with Jacqueline Du Pré?

'Definitely. I discovered her in the 1980s, when I had just decided to become a cellist, I was still a teenager. I found her playing intense and moving. The fact that she was a woman was absolutely crazy to me, because there weren't that many cellists back then. And of course she had this enormous charisma, which attracted me. Someone who did exactly what she wanted on stage and visibly enjoyed it. That's rare.'

Men's world

'When the film Hilary and Jackie came out in 1998, I studied with Melissa Phelps. She gave guest lectures in Amsterdam and had been taught by Jackie herself. She had been friends with her and was appalled by the film. She gave me another biography about her, by Elisabeth Wilson. That one describes her development as a cellist and I found it fascinating to read. I got the feeling that, as a cellist, she may not have received all the credit she deserves. - Perhaps also because in a man's world, with her long blonde hair, she was not always taken seriously.'

'Anyway, I read that she was extremely serious about her craft and knew very precisely what she was doing on the cello and why. It really wasn't all intuition, she worked really hard! I found that inspiring. Contrary to what people sometimes think, what we do doesn't just fall out of the sky. People work very hard, day in and day out, for years. But the public does not like to read this kind of background information as much. That wants to be "bedazzled".'

Not just another story

- Gerrit Timmers and Mirjam Koen wrote the libretto. What did they draw from?

'They mainly used quotes from friends and biographers. They didn't want to make up yet another new story, it had to stay close to what had already been said. The crux is: what do you do when someone you love is being gossiped about, do you intervene or do you dare not? But also: if someone you are friends with falls ill for a long time and dies, you may feel that you have not been there for them enough. For me, the opera is partly about friendship and what you do to protect your friends. Mattijs and I play two people who were close to Jacqueline and are shocked by the negative reports.'

- In 2019, you played an excerpt from the play in the presence of René Samson, a short time later he passed away. What did that mean for you and for the project?

'That was a bare pilot at the time. René was mainly about trying out what was possible with a cello and whether the idea would work. I'm glad we did that, otherwise this project would never have got off the ground. In July 2019, he died of cardiac arrest after falling off his bicycle. That was terribly intense. I remember well when we got a call with the news of his death. We were just celebrating the start of the holidays...'

'Our first thought was that the project could not go ahead. But pretty soon the idea arose to have it finished by two young composers, one act each. That way, the music René had composed could still be heard several times. We think he would have agreed to this - rather than have his work sit in the cupboard. Mathilde Wantenaar composed the first act, Max Knigge the second; so the third act was written by René.

Theatricality

- Did you ask them to compose in his style?

'No, our intention was for them to stay true to their own style. However, we did ask them to use some of his motifs or themes, to give the listener a bit more guidance. They did that fantastically and subtly. What is beautiful is that all three composers do not shun tonality, even if they each handle it in their own way.'

'Moreover, they share a great sense of the theatricality and the text - again in their own way. Mathilde really goes in depth with the poetry behind the meaning of what is being said. Max writes very illustratively and is incredibly virtuoso at interweaving text and music. René's score beautifully evokes the emotions of the characters.'

Nor does Hochscheid make any attempt to imitate Du Pré's playing: 'That's not possible at all! Nor do I specifically emphasise my individuality, but play the way I feel. - Both when I speak and when I play the cello. I did empathise strongly with her character and that of her sister. And of course in that of my own character of girlfriend. From those roles, I notice that my cello playing is influenced. I didn't expect that interaction, but I find it fantastic.'

Postscript 4 November. Due to the new corona measures on 3 November, November Music has cancelled the entire festival. So it will not be experienced via livestreams either. An incredible bummer!