An interesting and a rather unsual pick on HN. Celibidache, the Romanian conductor seen in the video, was nortorious for his perfectionism, similar to his contemporary Carlos Klieber. He would take 3 times as much more time for rehearsals, much to the chagrin of concert organizers. Despite or because of his limited repotroire, he was known to be very precise in his directions, often reciting every phrase for every instrument while adjusting the orchestra during reheasals.
His strongest renditions are that of Bruckner. Unlike other conductors, such as the classical "rockstar" Karajan, he would approach the symphonies in a glacial pace, often ending up 30 minutes longer than a typical rendition. However, this is where his craftmanship shines, with precise and transcendent harmonics that no other rendition can achieve. His 8th symphony is an experience one can not miss in his lifetime.
It's actually my first time hearing his rendition of Bolero, but I've already noticed the mark of the conductor: taking time to make sure each phrase is accurately pronounced. I'll have to re-listen for more observations.
In addition, Celibidache was not a perfect person. He was later known for his sexism, refusing to hire a qualified trombonist as first trombone after she passed a screen-blinded audition. [1]
One of the things I enjoy about his renditions is how much you can discover (and re-discover) about a piece. Dvorak's 9th symphony, for example, which lends itself a lot to personal interpretation, has a lot of variety in its renditions, but few are as haunting and expressive as Celibidache's. After I heard it for the first time, all the others seemed a little bland, even Karajan's.
He was not the most conventional of conductors, but he certainly enriched the world of music through his activity.
As for his personal views and his personal life... one of the first painful lessons I was taught about music is that admiration for one's art is best kept confined to art. It's tempting to think that someone who created beautiful art is a great person. Oftentimes they're not.
Back in high school, I was not just really passionate about music (which I still am), but I also had way more free time than I have now, so I did the whole teenage band thing. I got to meet a bunch of musicians from the local scene, some of them of modest international fame, at least within their genre. I quickly learned that many of the people that I genuinely admired were major assholes. And this assholery, I have found, crosses all kinds of borders. It spans every music genre, every kind of music education, every gender.
The Swedish radio orchestra still has one of the best string sections I have ever heard, which is commonly attributed to a tradition started with Celebidache.
Every time I play there I am always amazed by how well they play together and how they sound.
If you want Celibidache, he recorded the 8th with the Munich Philharmonic. My personal favorite (the opening to the fourth movement was my ringtone for some time) is Furtwängler with the Vienna Philharmonic.
I don't know why this is in HN, but thanks for posting this. I have always loved Bolero for its hypnotic transcendental feeling, that can be found in music of Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt and electronic music. I started to reading about Sergiu Celibidache and he seems a very interesting composer. A teaser from Wikipedia:
"Celibidache frequently refused to release his performances on commercial recordings during his lifetime, claiming that a listener could not obtain a "transcendental experience" outside the concert hall. Many of the recordings of his performances were released posthumously. He has nonetheless earned international acclaim for celebrated interpretations of the classical music repertoire and was known for a spirited performance style informed by his study and experiences in Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century."
Thank you for describing this "hypnotic transcendental feeling", which I now realize is the common quality that I so enjoy in both Bolero and Terry Riley's "In C" (especially the Ictus & Blindman quartet version https://play.google.com/music/m/Be26kwoxcafkgcyxad6c25y6m3y).
Anyway, now that I've discovered this, I'd love if you'd share some pieces (or a playlist!) that you've found that have this quality?
Richard Adeney, long time flautist with the London Symphony Orchestra has some amusing anecdotes about Celibadache in his autobiography ('Flute')."He was a jolly young man and his concerts were full of surprises. In the intervals of his chaotic concerts, he'd drink a bottle of sea water (bought from Boots the chemist), vomit and the after the concert he always went to the nearest fish and chip shop and wolf down three portions of fish and chips". Adeney's opinion (not being in the audience) was that he was 'a truly awful conductor' but maybe he was from the point of view of an instrumentalist under his baton.
Wow! This guy is the Artur Schnabel of composers. I love everything about his philosophical and technical approach to music. Thank you for sharing. This is exactly what I've been looking for.
Can anyone help me find his recording of Dvorak's 7th? Supposedly the recording exists but I'm not able to find it at retail anywhere I look.
Too bad there's no recording of Sibelius 4 or 7...
Richard Adeney, long time flautist with the LPO has some amusing anecdotes about Celibadache in his (RAs) autobiography ('Flute'). "In the intervals of his chaotic concerts, he'd drink a bottle of sea water (from Boots, the chemist) and then vomit; after the concert he'd always visit the nearest fish and chip shop and wolf down three portions of fish and chips".
His strongest renditions are that of Bruckner. Unlike other conductors, such as the classical "rockstar" Karajan, he would approach the symphonies in a glacial pace, often ending up 30 minutes longer than a typical rendition. However, this is where his craftmanship shines, with precise and transcendent harmonics that no other rendition can achieve. His 8th symphony is an experience one can not miss in his lifetime.
It's actually my first time hearing his rendition of Bolero, but I've already noticed the mark of the conductor: taking time to make sure each phrase is accurately pronounced. I'll have to re-listen for more observations.
In addition, Celibidache was not a perfect person. He was later known for his sexism, refusing to hire a qualified trombonist as first trombone after she passed a screen-blinded audition. [1]
[1] https://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/music/female-tro...