Iris du Pré (June 6, 1914 – September 27, 1985) was a pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, conductor and educator, best known as the mother of two famous musicians, Hilary

Hilary du Pré

Hilary du Pré is a British flautist and memoirist best known for her co-authorship of the book A Genius in the Family and contributions to the film Hilary and Jackie, both of which relate the family story around her sister, cellist Jacqueline du Pré.Du Pré is married to conductor Christopher...

, and Jacqueline

Jacqueline du Pré

Jacqueline Mary du Pré OBE was a British cellist. She is particularly associated with Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor; her interpretation has been described as "definitive" and "legendary." Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at 28 and led to her...

.

Iris married Derek du Pré, an accountant whom she met by chance when he was traveling in eastern Europe. She was already a professional musician, her own compositions including part of the Ballet de la Jeunesse Anglaise performed in 1941. In 1942 their first daughter, Hilary

Hilary du Pré

Hilary du Pré is a British flautist and memoirist best known for her co-authorship of the book A Genius in the Family and contributions to the film Hilary and Jackie, both of which relate the family story around her sister, cellist Jacqueline du Pré.Du Pré is married to conductor Christopher...

, was born, and in 1945 they had a second daughter, Jacqueline. Their son, Piers, was born in 1948.

As a music teacher, Iris started the education of her two daughters on the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 and cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, in addition to teaching in the public sector at Apsley Grammar School in Hemel Hempstead

Hemel Hempstead

Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....

 during the 1970s. In the film Hilary and Jackie

Hilary and Jackie

Hilary and Jackie is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce is based on the memoir A Genius in the Family by Piers and Hilary du Pré, which chronicles the life and career of their late sister, cellist Jacqueline du Pré...

, Iris is played by Celia Imrie

Celia Imrie

Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...

.