Jacqueline du Pré was born in Oxford and began to play the cello at the age of four, after hearing it on a BBC radio program. At five, she began to study at the London Cello School and at the age of 16, was given a gift from an anonymous donor of the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius, which she was to play for the rest of her life. Du Pré was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1973 and stopped playing in 1977. She taught classes until her death in 1987, having survived for 14 years with MS. She left the Stradivarius to Yo-Yo Ma when she died.

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