What did Jacqueline du Pré blue plaque do at 27 Upper Montagu Street?

The Story

# 27 Upper Montagu Street During her years at 27 Upper Montagu Street between 1967 and 1971, Jacqueline du Pré inhabited one of the most luminous periods of her career, transforming this elegant townhouse in Marylebone into a sanctuary of artistic creativity and personal joy. These were the years when she had recently married conductor Daniel Barenboim and was at the absolute peak of her performing powers, giving recitals and concerts that established her as one of the greatest cellists of the twentieth century, even as she juggled the demands of international performance with the early years of marriage. Within these walls, she likely practiced the demanding repertoire that would define her legacy—Bach suites, Elgar's Cello Concerto, and contemporary works—her cello's voice carrying through the Georgian townhouse as she refined interpretations that would be captured on some of her most celebrated recordings. Yet this address also marks the final chapter before multiple sclerosis began its gradual assault on her body in 1971, making 27 Upper Montagu Street a poignant threshold between her years of unbridled artistic triumph and the silent struggle that would follow, a place where brilliance burned most brightly just before the light began to fade.