Iris Maud du Pré (3 June 1914 – 27 September 1985) was an English

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, conductor and educator. She was the mother of cellist

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

, flautist

Hilary du Pré Hilary Anne du Pré (born 25 April 1942) is an English flautist and memoirist best known for her co-authorship of the book ''A Genius in the Family (book), A Genius in the Family'' (1997) and contributions to the 1998 film ''Hilary and Jackie'' ...

, and Piers du Pré.

Life and career

Du Pré was born Iris Maud Greep in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon, in 1914. She was the daughter of Maud (''née'' Mitchell) and William Greep, a shipbuilder. 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 The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, where she studied piano and composition. Her performance career was disrupted by the events of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch pianist. Life and career Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen but in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professional vio ...

. Du Pré's compositions were included in London performances of the ''Ballet de la jeunesse anglaise'' in autumn 1941. In 1942 their first daughter,

, was born, and in 1945 they had a second daughter,

. 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. Du Pré taught music in the public sector as well at places like

Apsley Grammar School Apsley may refer to: Places * Apsley, Hertfordshire, a suburb of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England ** Apsley railway station * Apsley, Ontario, a community in North Kawartha, Ontario, Canada * Apsley, Tasmania, a locality in Tasmania, Aus ...

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

during the 1970s. Her daughter Jacqueline became a world-renowned musician until she was struck with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, which ended her life in 1987. In the 1998 Oscar-nominated film ''

Hilary and Jackie ''Hilary and Jackie'' is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker, starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths as the British classical musician sisters Jacqueline du Pré (cello) and Hilary du Pré (flute). The film covers Jacqu ...

'', Iris du Pré is portrayed by

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...

. Du Pré died of cancer on 27 September 1985 in

Ashmansworth Ashmansworth is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of the English county of Hampshire. Geography The village is about south west of Newbury in Berkshire, and north east from Andover in Hampshire, just south west ...

, Hampshire at the age of 71.

Life and career

References

Further reading