I was just playing the Beethoven Op.5 Sonatas from the Warner set yesterday. Last week I was playing the Dvorak Concerto. The recordings sounds pretty awful to my ears, not unlistenable, but muffled. I’d be curious to hear what a newer remastering sounds like, hopefully on Qobuz.
DuPre was one of those Generational Musicians, and the tragedy that struck her down has made it sacrilege to speak of her in anything but hagiographic terms. I think her most endearing recording remains the Elgar Concerto, which she played with such raw emotion, that threw the idea of Edwardian restraint overboard, and it was very much of the times, the turbulent sixties. Other Cellists following in her wake have taken their cue from her-try Sol Gabeta—and it’s hard to be dispassionate but if blind listening we might prefer another recording. As for the rest of her recorded output, they document a great Artist, but the Elgar (with Barbirolli, not D.B.) will always be her legacy