Sergiu Celibidache

Dear Graham,

I never owned any records, but from the radio I sort of gather he is rather variable! It is interesting that Furtwnagler and 'Celi' would neither of them be drawn on the other. A "big mistery" is what SC called therir relationship in an interview and would go no further! Furtwangler simply never commented, which is unusual, as he was usually rather candid (often highly critical, but sometime very accute at pointing out qualities as well) about many of his contemporaries and the younger generation.

All the best from Fredrik

I’m a big Celi fan and own quite a few recordings. But even as a fan, I find his style well suited to some music and not very desirable in other music, especially in the Munich years.

His best work comes in Bruckner. His DG recordings are relatively standard in conception – that is, no elongated tempi – but even so it is quite good. His DG Seventh is one of my favorite recordings of the work. His EMI recordings are all very slow – the Eighth stretches to 104 minutes – but he mostly succeeds in creating a compelling and captivating sound world. From the EMI recordings, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth are simply amazing, and the Eighth hypnotic – in a good way.

Perhaps as good is his Debussy. His EMI La Mer is gargantuan is sound and scope, and the ending has massive, tidal force. Perhaps ironically, his slightly lighter, clearer DG La Mer is even better. It’s one of the best I’ve heard.

His EMI Brahms takes some getting used to, but the Second and Ein Deutsches Requiem are both extraordinary in cumulative effect. (The second really is a thing of beauty.) The same can be said for his rather obvious but still moving Tchaikovsky Fifth and Sixth.

But his Haydn is leaden and dead, and his Beethoven highly variable. The Sixth is very good, the Third a bit less so, and the Ninth, while having some fine moments, just doesn’t maintain tension. I’ve not even bothered with his Bartok or Schubert, pieces where excess length will just kill the works.

His DG recordings come in a variety of boxes, the French music set being the best of the three I’ve heard. He’s even good at Ravel! The Tahra twofer with his immediate post-war recordings show that he was much more fiery – and conventional – when he was younger, and a variety of pirate recordings I’ve heard show him in a different light. I have a copy of Mozart’s 9th piano concerto with Celi accompanying Murray Perahia, and while the orchestra is definitely beefier than normal, the tempi are well judged and the musical line taut. And despite his antipathy for opera, his Wagner excerpts make one wish he would have ventured into that arena a few times.


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Have to say his Molasses slow Bruckner takes a bit of getting used to, but it ultimately worth it. Can't get on with much of his other suff.

A quick update here.

I bought all the DG boxes, and I only have the Bruckner Eighth and Ninth to listen to still - am listening to the Eighth just now. Generally, I'm very very impressed indeed.

As luck would have it, the EMI box got lost and I've had a refund. From what I can gather, these late EMI performances are not as widely recommended as the earlier DG sets, so I may not try to find a replacement. Would that be a mistake?

Graham

Effinell! I didn't expect Celi's Bruckner Eighth to carry shockwaves in its wake. But it sure as hell does.

Have ordered replacement EMI set, so may have to put much of it up for sale on eBay in due course. Who knows?

Graham