Group Therapy: Jacqueline du Pré

 As a young man of limited financial resources I managed to hear Jacqueline du Pré playing live only twice, but I listened, enthralled, to her concerts at the other end of a radio. Even though it often came with as much crackle as notes, the chamber music I heard was magical. Du Pré may be remembered primarily for her concerto recordings, particularly her seminal Elgar, but her private life was dominated by the sheer enjoyment of playing chamber music with her friends.We can experience this unfettered joy in the cruelly small catalogue of discs that is the legacy of this unique musician.