Recordings

Long after she stopped playing the cello--because of the multiple sclerosis that eventually killed her--Du Pre once boasted that she had, in her short, 10-year career, played everything written for the instrument. It was true, and to all of it she brought passion, control, a long, sweeping line and inimitable detailing. These mementos of Du Pre’s playing, while she was still a teenager, prove it again. Two suites by Bach attest to her sense of structure and her ingrained virtuosity; Falla’s “Suite Populaire Espagnole” displays her eloquence and spontaneity. Her Brahms (the F-major Sonata, with pianist Ernest Lush) seethes and soars, but always sings. Two movements of Britten’s Sonata, Opus 65, with pianist Stephen Kovacevich, show humor and affection in abundance. And with fellow cellist William Pleeth, Du Pre accomplishes the magic of glowing, matching tones in Couperin’s “Les Gou^ts-reunis.”