Early life and education

Sergiu Celibidache was born on 28 June 1912 in Roman, a small town in North East
Romania, where his father was a government official. Early in his youth, he began
studying piano and after traditional schooling in Romania, he was sent by his
father to Bucharest and then to Paris where he studied music, philosophy and
mathematics. His father had expected him to pursue a political career in Romania.
However, Celibidache chose to enroll in the Hochschule fr Musik (Academy of Music)
in Berlin, Germany in 1936 where he studied composition under Heinz Thiessen and
later conducting under Kurt Thomas, Walter Gmeindl and Fritz Stein. He continued
with doctoral studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University (Friedrich-Wilhelms-
Universitt) in Berlin where he studied philosophy with Nicolai Hartmann and Eduard
Spranger and musicology with Arnold Schering and Georg Schnemann. He submitted a
dissertation on Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez (c. 14501521) 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 Franoys Bernier, Jordi Mora,
Peter Perret, Markand Thakar, Konrad von Abel, and Nils-Gran Areskoug, as well as
The Danish Windquintet.

He appeared in the film Botschafter der Musik 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 and the sexism Ms. Conant had to put
up with 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, in

the Arrondissement Pithiviers, near Paris. He was buried in the Cimetire 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.

Legacy
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 consent of his family. Nevertheless, Celibidache did
pay 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, were strongly influential on him. He believed that musical
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 twenty-five 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.

Discography

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

1969: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 In E Minor, Op.64 (Decca Eclipse)

1985: Beethoven: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra (Electrecord)
1988: Mendelssohn: Sinfonia N. 4 Italiana; Dvork: 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; Romeo 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: Great Mass, K. 427 (Cetra)
1995: Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 2&4 (Nas)
1997: Bla Bartk: 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 Mere lOye; 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: Ciakovksi: Sinfonia No. 2 Op. 17 "Piccola Russia"; Dvork: 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 Verklrung; 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. 35 (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. 35, 79 [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
2004: Celibidache Conducts Milhaud & Rousel (EMI Music Distribution)
2004: Celibidache Plays Mozart's Requiem (EMI Classics)
2004: Faur: 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 & Hren [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 Klner 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.: Antonn Dvork: 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; Romeo et Juliette (Arkadia)
n.d.: Brahms: German Requiem (Myto Records)
n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 14 [Box Set] (Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 (Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 24; 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 79 [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: Ibria; Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole; Alborada del gracioso
(Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Debussy: La Mer (Rehearsal) (Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Debussy: La mer; La damoiselle lue; Milhaud: Saudades do Brazil (Fonit-
Cetra Italia)
n.d.: Debussy: Nocturnes; La Mer (Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Dvork: Concerto in B Minor/Eight Slavonic Dances (Arkadia)
n.d.: Dvork: Concerto per Violino e Orchestra; Sinfonia No. 9 "Dal Nuovo
Mondo" (Concerto)
n.d.: Franck: Symphonie en Re 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 Mussorsgsky: 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;
Bck: 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 Sergie Celibidache: Schubert, Tchaikovsky
n.d.: Ravel: Valse; Daphnis et Chlo; Suite No. 2; Le Tombeau de Couperin
(Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklrung; Vier letzte Lieder; Igor Stravinsky:
L'oiseau de feu; Ravel: Daphnis et Chlo (Acum)
n.d.: Rimsky-Korsakov: Schhrazade (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 14,
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 Verklrung; Respighi: Pini di Roma (Deutsche
Grammophon)
n.d.: Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (Deutsche Grammophon)
n.d.: Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de feu; Ravel: Daphnis et Chlo; La Valse; Pavane
pour une infante dfunte (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 17 (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)

Honors and awards

1970: Lonie Sonning Music Prize (Denmark)

1992: Honorary Citizen of the City of Munich (Ehrenbrgerrecht von Mnchen)
1992: Grand Officers Cross with star, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of
Germany (Groes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern, Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik
Deutschland)
1992: Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy
1992: Doctor honoris causa, Iasi Academy of Art and University of Iasi
1993: Member of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (Bayerische
Maximiliansorden fr Wissenschaft und Kunst) (Germany)
Bavarian Order of Merit (Bayerischer Verdienstorden)
Honorary Citizen (Cetatean de Onoare) of Iasi, Romania