These live performances give a vivid impression of Du Pre’s spontaneity. There’s a feeling of living the music as it unfolds, which she didn’t always capture in the recording studio. Mostly this is connected with the quality of her tone – a little extra bow-pressure, or a particular character given to the vibrato – but it doesn’t sound at all calculated; it’s an expression of her engagement with the music at that particular moment. So these concertos make enthralling listening. There are drawbacks – a lot of audience coughs and other extraneous noises, and quite a few minor technical imperfections. At a concert, Du Pre would often throw caution to the winds; her magnificent but somewhat rough first entry in the Dvorak contrasts strongly with her controlled playing on the studio recording. The recorded balance of the Saint-Saens spotlights the cello, emphasising Du Pre’s passionate reading, but throwing out of perspective all the passages of dialogue (beautifully realised on the EMI recording) between cello and orchestra. Both Saint-Saens performances include an oddly lumpy, unappealing account of the minuet-like second movement, surely too slow for allegretto con moto.
The recorded sound for the Dvorak is excellent, and Celibidache lovingly shapes all the details of the colourful instrumentation, creating a luminous, fairy-tale atmosphere. Dreamy music like the end of the Adagio is drawn out almost to excess, though with great beauty – and the finale’s gait is strangely heavy (in partnership with Barenboim, Du Pre achieves a better balance between weight and liveliness), but this is still a remarkable, ear-opening performance.'