Hello and thank you for downloading Witness from the BBC World Service with me Alex Last.

And today we take you back to August 1965,

when at the Kingsway Hall in London, a 20-year-old British cellist Jacqueline Dupre, recorded the Elgar Cello Concerto.

It would become one of the most famous classical recordings of the 20th century. And the The tension that Jackie created was so extraordinary. You know on those on that double

stopping at the opening of the old art cello concerto you know one was

electrifying and one knew that this was going to be a great event.

Music critic Edward Greenfield had been invited to hear the young English cellist Jacqueline Dupree record the Elgar Cello concerto in E minor

with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbaroli.

Dupre wasn't a household name, but her star was rising.

A child prodigy she'd already performed the piece in concert to rave reviews.

This though would be the first time she'd recorded it.

Wearing a short sleeve dress with her blonde hair loose she'd arrived at the hall without

fanfare. Dennis Wick was Principal Trumbone in the orchestra.

This was just another recording session. We were playing those almost every day and

this young lady came and John Barbara Ollie came on and introduced her.

I'd never heard of her and after we'd heard her play we began began to realize even the hard-bitten LSO of 1965

began to realize that this was not just another cellist, this was something rather special.

Why was it special?

Well, in the Elgar concerto, it starts off with the solo,

with these marvelous triple stop chords. And the kind of passion and

the kind of passion and brilliance that she brought to those opening cords you can hear to this day.

And it didn't take very long for people's ears to be pinned back.

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