Iris du Pré
Iris Maud du Pré (née Greep; 3 June 1914 – 27 September 1985) was an English pianist, composer, conductor and educator. She was the mother of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, flautist Hilary du Pré, and Piers du Pré.
Life and career
[edit]Iris Maud Greep was born in Plymouth, Devon, in 1914.[1] She was the daughter of Maud (née Mitchell) and William Greep, a shipbuilder.[2] She started learning the piano at the age of seven. Having acquired a reputation as a gifted pianist, at age eighteen in 1932 she won a scholarship to the London School of Dalcroze Eurhythmics where she studied for two years before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied piano and composition.[3]
Her performance career was disrupted by the events of World War II. Du Pré then started teaching and travelling. In 1940, she married Derek du Pré (1908-1990), an assistant editor at The Accountant whom she met by chance in 1938 in Poland where he was travelling and she was attending a summer course given by the pianist Egon Petri.[4] Du Pré's compositions were included in London performances of the Ballet de la jeunesse anglaise in autumn 1941.[5][6]
In 1942 their first daughter, Hilary du Pré, was born, and in 1945 they had a second daughter, Jacqueline du Pré. Their son, Piers, was born in 1948.
As a music teacher, she recognised her two daughters' talents and she started their musical education early with Jacqueline learning the cello from age four.[7] Du Pré taught music in the public sector as well at places like Apsley Grammar School, Hemel Hempstead during the 1970s.
Her daughter Jacqueline became a world-renowned musician until she was struck with multiple sclerosis, which ended her life in 1987.
In the 1998 Oscar-nominated film Hilary and Jackie, Iris du Pré is portrayed by Celia Imrie.
Du Pré died of cancer on 27 September 1985 in Ashmansworth, Hampshire at the age of 71.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Easton, Carol (2000). Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-306-80976-1.
- ^ Easton, Carol (2000). Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-306-80976-1.
- ^ Easton, Carol (2000). Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. p. 24. ISBN 0-306-80976-1.
- ^ "Coton Collection". Royal Holloway, University of London. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Elizabeth A. M. (1999). Jacqueline du Pré: Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20017-6.
- ^ Wilson, Elizabeth A. M. (1999). Jacqueline du Pré: Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20017-6.
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Easton, Carol (2000). Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-306-80976-1.
Further reading
[edit]- Wilson, Elizabeth A. M. (1999). Jacqueline du Pré: Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20017-6.
- Easton, Carol (2000). Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80976-1.
- Du Pré, Piers; du Pré, Hilary (1997). A Genius in the Family: An Intimate Memoir of Jacqueline du Pré. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. ISBN 1-85619-753-0.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
- 1914 births
- 1985 deaths
- English classical pianists
- English women pianists
- 20th-century English composers
- British women conductors (music)
- 20th-century British classical pianists
- 20th-century English conductors (music)
- 20th-century English women musicians
- Musicians from Devon
- 20th-century British women composers
- People from Ashmansworth
- 20th-century British women pianists