Sergiu Celibidache

Early life and education

Sergiu Celibidache was born on 28 June 1912 in Roman, a small city in Moldavia region of Romania, where his father was a government official. He grew up in Iași, where his family soon moved after his birthday. He was already improvising at the piano by the age of four, and after a traditional schooling in mathematics, philosophy and music in Iași, he was sent by his father to Bucharest and then to Paris where he continued his studies. His father had expected him to pursue a political career in Romania. However, Celibidache chose to enroll in the Hochschule für Musik (Academy of Music) in Berlin, Germany in 1936 where he studied composition under Heinz Tiessen and later conducting under Kurt Thomas, Walter Gmeindl and Fritz Stein. He continued with doctoral studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität) in Berlin where he studied philosophy with Nicolai Hartmann and Eduard Spranger and musicology with Arnold Schering and Georg Schünemann. He submitted a dissertation on Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521) and his work during the Renaissance. He received his degree in 1944. During his studies in Berlin, Celibidache was introduced to Zen Buddhism through the influence of his teacher, Martin Steinke, and the tenets of Buddhism informed Celibidache's worldview and work for the rest of his life.

Career

Sergiu Celibidache studied in Berlin and, from 1945 to 1952, he was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. He later worked with radio orchestras in Stockholm, Stuttgart and Paris. He also worked in Britain in the late 1940s and 1950s, due partly to the promotional efforts of the pianist Eileen Joyce and her partner, an artists' agent. Joyce said that Celibidache was the greatest conductor she had ever worked with – "he was the only one who got inside my soul". In 1970 he was awarded Denmark's Sonning Award. From 1979 until his death he was music director of the Munich Philharmonic. He regularly taught at Mainz University in Germany and in 1984 taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Teaching was a major focus throughout his life and his courses were frequently open to all without fee. Among his notable students are Françoys Bernier, Jordi Mora, Peter Perret, Bernhard Sieberer, Markand Thakar, Konrad von Abel, Nils-Göran Areskoug and Tom Zelle as well as The Danish Windquintet.

He appeared in the film Ambassadors of Music (1952) where he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in a complete performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Egmont overture.

One controversial incident during his tenure with the Munich Philharmonic was a protracted legal battle to oust principal trombonist Abbie Conant that lasted 12 years, with Conant ultimately prevailing. Judge Angela Mack ruled that the City of Munich through the orchestra had broken the law concerning the equal treatment of employees. A detailed description of the case can be found in an internet article published by her husband, William Osbourne. Her audition and controversy is discussed in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink.

Death

Celibidache died at the age of 84 on 14 August 1996 at La Neuville-sur-Essonne, near Paris. He was buried in the Cimetière de Neuville sur Essone.

Personal life

In 1965, Celibidache married Ioana Procopie Dimitrescu. They had one son, Sergiu Ioan Celibidache ("Serge"), born 19 June 1968.

Performance style and criticism

Celibidache's approach to music-making is often described more by what he did not do instead of what he did. For example, much has been made of Celibidache's "refusal" to make recordings even though almost all of his concert activity actually was recorded with many released posthumously by major labels such as EMI and Deutsche Grammophon with the consent of his family. Nevertheless, Celibidache paid little attention to making these recordings, which he viewed merely as by-products of his orchestral concerts.

Celibidache's focus was instead on creating, during each concert, the optimal conditions for what he called a "transcendent experience". Aspects of Zen Buddhism, such as ichi-go ichi-e, strongly influenced his thinking. He believed that transcendental experiences were extremely unlikely to ensue when listening to recorded music, so he eschewed them. As a result, some of his concerts did provide audiences with exceptional and sometimes life-altering experiences, including, for example, a 1984 concert in Carnegie Hall by the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute that New York Times critic John Rockwell touted as the best of his 25 years of concert-going.

Celibidache was well known for his demands for extensive rehearsal time with orchestras. An oft-mentioned feature of many of his concerts, captured in the live recordings of them, is a slower tempo than what is considered the norm, while, in fast passages, his tempos often exceeded expectations. In Celibidache's own view, however, criticism of a recording's tempo is irrelevant, as it is not (and cannot be) a critique of the performance but rather of a transcription of it, without the ambience of the moment, for him, a key factor in any musical performance. As Celibidache explained, the acoustic space in which one hears a concert directly affects the likelihood of the emergence of his sought-after transcendent experience. The acoustic space within which one hears a recording of one of his performances, on the other hand, has no impact on the performance, as it is impossible for the acoustic features of that space to stimulate musicians to play slower or faster.

That his recorded performances differ so widely from the majority of other recordings has led them to be seen by some as collectors' items rather than mainstream releases, 'one-offs' rather than reference recordings.

Notable releases have been his Munich performances of Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, Robert Schumann, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré and a series of live performances with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.

•  ?: Mozart: Symphony No.25 In G Minor K.183 (Decca AK 2197-9 78 rpm)
•  ?: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E Minor, Op.64 LPO (Decca AK 2036-41 78 rpm)
•  ?: Prokofiev: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Prokofiev Symphony in D Major Op.25 “Classical” (HMV C 3729-30) 78 rpm
• 1951: Mozart: Symphony No.25 In G Minor K.183 (Decca LXT 2558)
• 1951: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E Minor, Op.64 LPO (Decca LXT 2545)
• 1969: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E Minor, Op.64 LPO (Decca Eclipse ECM 833)
• 1985: Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Electrecord)
• 1988: Mendelssohn: Sinfonia N. 4 Italiana; Dvořák: Sinfonia N. 9 Dal Nuovo Mondo (Frequenz)
• n.d.: Beethoven: Concerto No.5 for Piano and Orchestra "Emperor" (Electrecord)
• 1990: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Nutcracker Suite (London)
• 1991: Mozart: Requiem; Vivaldi: Stabat Mater (Arkadia)
• 1991: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”; Roméo et Juliette (Arkadia)
• 1994: Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Andromeda)
• 1994: Brahms: Symphony Nos. 3 & 4 (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• 1994: Brahms: Symphony No. 2 & Haydn Variations, Op. 56a (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• 1994: Mozart: Grand Mass, K. 427 (Cetra)
• 1995: Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 2&4 (Nas)
• 1997: Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 4&5 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Debussy: La Mer; Iberia (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Haydn: Symphony Nos 103 & 104 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Mozart: Symphony No. 40; Haydn: “Oxford Symphony” (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Ravel: Ma Mère l’Oye; Bolero, Le tombeau de Couperin; Alborada del Gracioso (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• 1997: S. Celibidache Conducts Beethoven & Brahms (Tahra)
• 1997: Schubert: Symphony No. 9 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Schumann: Symphonies 3 &4 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy–Overture/Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1997: The Young Celibidache, Vol. II (Tahra)
• 1997: Wagner: Orchestral Music (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1998: Bruckner 3 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1998: Bruckner 4 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1998: Bruckner 6 (EMI Classics)
• 1998: Bruckner 7; Te Deum (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1998: Bruckner 8 (EMI Classics)
• 1998: Bruckner 9 in Concert and Rehearsal (EMI Classics)
• 1998: Bruckner: Mass in F minor (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1998: Bruckner: Symphonies No. 3-9; Mass in F minor, Te Deum (EMI Classics)
• 1998: Shostakovich: S No. 7 (Magic Talent)
• 1999: Sergei Celebidache (Box) (No Noise)
• 1999: Beethoven: Symphonies No. 2 & 4 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Beethoven: Symphony No. 6; Leonore (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 4 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Ein deutsches Requiem (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Celibidache Conducts Beethoven 7 & 8 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Tchaikovsky: Sinfonia No. 2 Op. 17 "Piccola Russia"; Dvořák: Concerto Op. 104 (Urania)
• 1999: Brahms: Deutsches Requiem (Audiophile Classics)
• 1999: Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss Suite (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1999: Prokofiev: Scythian Suite; Symphony No. 5 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1999: Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade; Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (Version 1923) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1999: Schumann: Symphony No. 2; Brahms: Haydn Variations (EMI Music Distribution)
• 1999: Strauss: Don Juan; Tod und Verklärung; Respighi: Pini di Roma (Rehearsals) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1999: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2; Brahms: Symphony No. 4 (Arkadia)
• 2000: Brahms: Sinfonia N. 2; Mozart: Sinfonia No. 25 (Urania)
• 2000: Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3–5 (Box Set) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 (Rehearsal) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Bruckner: Symphony No. 5; Mozart: Symphony No. 35 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Franck: Symphony in D; Hindemith: Mathis der Mahler (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel; Don Juan; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2000: Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"; Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite (Aura Classics)
• 2000: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2001: Sergiu Celibidache (Classica d'Oro)
• 2001: Sergiu Celibidache et la Philharmonie de Berlin (Tahra)
• 2001: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" (Classica d'Oro)
• 2002: Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5; Violin Concerto No. 1 (Classica d'Oro)
• 2003: Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 "Italian"; Bizet: Symphony in C (Archipel)
• 2004: Bach: Mass in B minor (EMI Classics)
• 2004: Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3–5, 7–9 [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2004: Celibidache Conducts Milhaud & Rousel (EMI Music Distribution)
• 2004: Celibidache Plays Mozart's Requiem (EMI Classics)
• 2004: Fauré: Requiem; Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms [Live] (EMI Music Distribution)
• 2004: Overtures by Berlioz; Mendelssohn; Schubert; Smetana & Strauss (EMI Music Distribution)
• 2004: Prokofiev: Symphonies 1 & 5 (EMI Music Distribution)
• 2004: Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (EMI Music Distribution)
• 2004: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 'Leningrad' (Pickwick)
• 2006: Celibidache: Der Taschengarten (Universal Classics & Jazz)
• 2006: Celibidache: The Complete EMI Edition [Limited Edition] [Box Set] (EMI Classics)
• 2006: Sergiu Celibidache: Lesen & Hören [CD+Book]
• 2007: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"; Overture Leonre III (Archipel)
• 2007: Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
• 2007: Schumann: Symphony No. 4; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
• 2008: Sergiu Celibedache Conducts Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester (Orfeo)
• n.d.: Anton Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8; Brahms: Haydn-Variationen Op. 56 (Exclusive)
• n.d.: Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.7, In E Major (As Disc)
• n.d.: Antonín Dvořák: Symphony N. 7; Johann Strauss Jr.: Die Fledermaus, Overture (Artists)
• n.d.: Bach: Mass in B minor (Exclusive)
• n.d.: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Artists)
• n.d.: Beethoven: Symphony No. 7; Bach: Brandenburg Coincerto No. 3; Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (Archipel)
• n.d.: Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique op. 14; Roméo et Juliette (Arkadia)
• n.d.: Brahms: German Requiem (Myto Records)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1–4 [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2–4; Variations on a theme from Haydn (Acum)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphony No. 1 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphony No. 1 (Acum)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 (Rehearsal) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Brahms: Symphony Nos. 2 & 3 (Legend)
• n.d.: Brahms: The Complete Symphonies; Haydn Variations; Alto Rhapsody (Living Stage)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphonies 4 & 9 (Exclusive)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphonies 7 & 8 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphonies 7–9 [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphony 7 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphony 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (Exclusive)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Arkadia)
• n.d.: Bruckner: Symphony No8, WAB108; Schubert: Symphony in Bf No5, D485 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Celibidache Conducts Debussy & Ravel (Box Set) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Celibidache Conducts Debussy/Respighi/Milhaud (Originals)
• n.d.: Celibidache Conducts Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev (Box Set) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Celibidache Conducts Ravel & Stravinsky (Originals)
• n.d.: Celibidache Conducts Tchaikovsky (Grammofono 2000)
• n.d.: Celibidache Festival (Originals)
• n.d.: Celibidache [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Celibidache conducts Debussy (FED)
• n.d.: Celibidache, Vol. 1: Symphonies (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Celibidache, Vol. 3: French & Russian Music (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Celibidache, Vol. 4: Sacred Music & Opera (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Conducts Stravinsky 13 (Arlecchino)
• n.d.: Debussy: Ibéria; Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole; Alborada del gracioso (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Debussy: La Mer (Rehearsal) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Debussy: La mer; La Damoiselle élue; Milhaud: Saudades do Brazil (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Debussy: Nocturnes; La Mer (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Dvořák: Concerto in B Minor/Eight Slavonic Dances (Arkadia)
• n.d.: Dvořák: Concerto per Violino e Orchestra; Sinfonia No. 9 "Dal Nuovo Mondo" (Concerto)
• n.d.: Franck: Symphonie en Ré mineur; Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll; Tristan und Isolde vorspiel (Arkadia)
• n.d.: Great Conductors of the 20th century, Vol. 39: Sergiu Celibidache (EMI Music Distribution)
• n.d.: Haydn: Sinfonia No. 104 "London"; Claude Debussy: Jeux; Igor Stravinsky: Jeux de Cartes (Urania)
• n.d.: Haydn: Symphony No.103/Mozart: Symphony No.38 (Originals)
• n.d.: Legendary Performers Vol.2 (As Disc)
• n.d.: Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/Richard Strauss: Don Juan (Artist)
• n.d.: Mozart: Grande Messa K 427; Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra K 365; Serenata "Haffner" K 250 (Acum)
• n.d.: Mozart: Grande Messa/Concerto KV.365/Serenata KV.250 (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Mozart: Messa di Requiem (Il Sabato)
• n.d.: Mozart: Requiem in Dm (Artists)
• n.d.: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41; Schubert: Symphony No. 5; Schumann: Symphony No. 2 (Living Stage)
• n.d.: Mozart:Symphony No.41/Schubert:Symphony No.5 (Memories)
• n.d.: Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Cherubini: Symphony in D Major; Bäck: Intrada for Orchestra (Originals)
• n.d.: Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (Extracts) (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Prokofiev: Romeo E Giulietta/Berlioz: Romeo E Giulietta/Tchaikovsky: Romeo E Giulietta (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5; Prokofiev, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet (Acum)
• n.d.: RTSI Orchestra Conducted by Sergiu Celibidache: Schubert, Tchaikovsky
• n.d.: Ravel: Valse; Daphnis et Chloé; Suite No. 2; Le Tombeau de Couperin (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklärung; Vier letzte Lieder; Igor Stravinsky: L'oiseau de feu; Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (Acum)
• n.d.: Rimsky-Korsakov: Schéhérazade (Originals)
• n.d.: Schubert/Schumann: Sinfonie (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8; Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1 "Primavera" & 2 (Acum)
• n.d.: Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9; Franck: Symphony in D minor; Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition (Urania)
• n.d.: Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54; Richard Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (Artists Live Recording)
• n.d.: Schumann: Symphony Nos. 1 & 2 (Cetra)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Alla Rai, Vol.5 (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts (Artists)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts (Enterprise)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts (Urania)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (FED)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requeim, Op. 45 (IDIS)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts Mendelssohn, Haydn, Beethoven (IDIS)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache Conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker (Myto Records)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache alla RAI, Vol. 1: Johannes Brahms – Sinfonie 1–4, Variazione su un tema di Haydn (Fonit-Cetra Italia)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache conducts Blacher, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Cherubini, Schwarz-Schilling (Tahra)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache conducts Franck, Tchaikovsky (IDIS)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache conducts Schubert & Schumann (IDIS)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache, Vol.1 (Arlecchino)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache: From the collection of Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv (Music & Arts)
• n.d.: Sergiu Celibidache: Magier des Klangs (Documents)
• n.d.: Shostakovich: Symphony No.7 "Leningrad" (Grammofono 2000)
• n.d.: Shostakovich: Symphony No5, Op47; Symphony No9, Op70 (Arkadia)
• n.d.: Shostokovich: Symphonies 1 & 9; Barber: Adagio for Strings (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Strauss: Don Juan; Tod und Verklärung; Respighi: Pini di Roma (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de feu; Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé; La Valse; Pavane pour une infante défunte (Cetra)
• n.d.: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Nutcracker Suite (Angel Records / EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6; Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610 – Ave Maris Stella (Archipel)
• n.d.: The Art of Sergiu Celibidache, Volume 1–7 (Arlecchino)
• n.d.: The Complete RIAS Recordings (Audite)
• n.d.: The Stuttgart Recordings, Vol. 3 (Deutsche Grammophon)
• n.d.: The Unpublished Celibidache in Naples (Originals)
• n.d.: Verdi: Requiem (EMI Classics)
• n.d.: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde WWV90; Siegfried Idyll in E WWV103 (Arkadia)

• 1970: Léonie Sonning Music Prize (Denmark)
• 1992: Honorary Citizen of the City of Munich (Ehrenbürgerrecht von München)
• 1992: Grand Officers Cross with star, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern, Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
• 1992: Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy
• 1992: Doctor honoris causa, Iași Academy of Art and University of Iași
• 1993: Member of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (Bayerische Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst) (Germany)
• Bavarian Order of Merit (Bayerischer Verdienstorden)
• Honorary Citizen (Cetățean de Onoare) of Iași, Romania