E. Elgar – Cello concerto, op. 85 – Adagio, Moderato (1919)
 
When the 20-year-old Jacqueline du Pré recorded Elgar’s cello concerto in 1965, with the London Symphony Orchestra directed by Sir John Barbirolli, she probably had no clue that two stars would be born that day: herself, whose masterful interpretation tied her name to Elgar forever and elected her as an all-time cello legend, despite multiple sclerosis interrupted her career just 8 years later and led her to death at soon after; and the concerto itself, which would soon become internationally recognized as a cornerstone of solo cello repertoire, after being almost forgotten for 46 years following the debacle at its premiere in 1919. Interestingly, the concerto’s intense, contemplative and elegiac musical fingerprint sounds like the perfect soundtrack for its elusive history.