Biography
Sergiu Celibidache lived from 1912 to 1996 and ranked among the twentieth century’s most exceptional and electrifying conductors, renowned equally for his exacting artistic criteria and his painstaking approach to rehearsals.
Raised in the Romanian town of Iaszi, he displayed pronounced musical ability once piano instruction began in childhood. In 1936 he entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik to work with Walter Gmeindl and Fritz Stein, while simultaneously attending Friedrich Wilhelm University, where philosophy and musicology formed the focus of his studies and where Zen Buddhism first captured his attention.
A sequence of unexpected circumstances placed him, at only thirty-three, in the music directorship of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1945. With the orchestra’s performances halted at the close of World War II and Wilhelm Furtwängler barred from the podium until formally exonerated of Nazi associations, Celibidache filled the role until Furtwängler’s reinstatement in 1952.
Thereafter he avoided long-term appointments for many years, cultivating instead a reputation through guest appearances that earned near-mythic status for performances fusing the structural discipline acquired in his German training with an impassioned temperament. He served as chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm from 1964 to 1971, essentially reconstituting the ensemble. Comparable leadership roles followed with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1971–1977) and the Orchestre National de France in Paris (1973–1975).
In 1979 he became artistic director of the Munich Philharmonic and general musical director of the City of Munich. Between 1983 and 1984 he also conducted the student orchestra of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.
Early in his career Celibidache developed an aversion to audio recording, so his legacy survived chiefly through live concert documents, many of them made without authorization. Later he discovered an appreciation for combined video and audio work and took part in several such projects featuring music by Prokofiev, Brahms, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Bruckner.
Raised in the Romanian town of Iaszi, he displayed pronounced musical ability once piano instruction began in childhood. In 1936 he entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik to work with Walter Gmeindl and Fritz Stein, while simultaneously attending Friedrich Wilhelm University, where philosophy and musicology formed the focus of his studies and where Zen Buddhism first captured his attention.
A sequence of unexpected circumstances placed him, at only thirty-three, in the music directorship of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1945. With the orchestra’s performances halted at the close of World War II and Wilhelm Furtwängler barred from the podium until formally exonerated of Nazi associations, Celibidache filled the role until Furtwängler’s reinstatement in 1952.
Thereafter he avoided long-term appointments for many years, cultivating instead a reputation through guest appearances that earned near-mythic status for performances fusing the structural discipline acquired in his German training with an impassioned temperament. He served as chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm from 1964 to 1971, essentially reconstituting the ensemble. Comparable leadership roles followed with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1971–1977) and the Orchestre National de France in Paris (1973–1975).
In 1979 he became artistic director of the Munich Philharmonic and general musical director of the City of Munich. Between 1983 and 1984 he also conducted the student orchestra of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.
Early in his career Celibidache developed an aversion to audio recording, so his legacy survived chiefly through live concert documents, many of them made without authorization. Later he discovered an appreciation for combined video and audio work and took part in several such projects featuring music by Prokofiev, Brahms, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Bruckner.
Albums

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
2024

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
2024

Debussy: Nocturnes & Franck: Symphony in D Minor
2024

Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 "Rhenish" - Brahms: Haydn Variations
2022

Haydn: Symphony No. 102 in B-Flat Major - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor "Pathétique" (Remastered 2022) [Live]
2022

Mozart: Symphony No. 40 - Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 92 "Oxford", 103 "Drumroll" & 104 "London"
2022

Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major Op. 82 & Stravinsky: The Firebird (Suite) [Live]
2022

Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
2021

Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Romeo and Juliet (Excerpts) [Live]
2018

Mahler: Kindertotenlieder - Strauss, Richard: Tod und Verklärung
2017

Schubert: Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished" - Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"
2017

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 & Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53
2015

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4
2012

Brahms: Symphony No. 1
2012

Sergiu Celibidache Conducts (1957, 1960)
2011

Sergiu Celibidache conducts (1958, 1960
2011

Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
2011

Sergiu Celibidache conducts Franz Schubert
2011

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 - Mozart: Symphony No. 25
2010

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, The Nutcracker Suite
2009

Opera Overtures
2009

Mozart: Requiem in D Minor
2006

Brahms: Nos. Symphonies 2 - 4
2005

Roussel: Orchestral Suites; Milhaud: Suite Francaise, Percussion Concerto
2005

Shostakovich: Symphonies 1 & 9; Barber: Adagio for Strings
2005

Prokofiev: Symphonies 1 & 5
2005

Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem/Symphony No.1
2005

Faure: Requiem; Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
2004

Rimsky Korsakov: Scheherazade
2004

Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
2004

Schumann & Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos
2002

Celibidache: Der Taschengarten
2002

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4, "Romantic"
2000

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3-5; 7-9
2000

Haydn: Symphony No. 104 - Debussy: Jeux - Stravinksy: Jeux De Cartes
2000

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, "Italian" - Haydn: Symphony No. 94, "The Surprise"
2000

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 & Dvořák: Cello Concerto Op. 104
1999

TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY No.2 "LITTLE RUSSIAN", BRAHMS: SYMPHONY No.4 "SINFONIE NR.4"
1999

Bruckner - Symphony No. 8
1998

SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY, No. 5
1998

DEBUSSY: LA MER "TROIS ESQUISSES SYMPHONIQUES"
1995

DVORAK: CELLO CONCERTO No. 2, SLAVONIC DANCES
1995

DEBUSSY: LA MER "TROIS ESQUISSES SYMPHONIQUES"; RAVEL: DAPHINS ET CHLOÉ SUITE No. 2 "FRAGMENTS SYMPHONIQUES II"
1995

STRAUSS: TOD UND VERKLÄRUNG, TILL EULENSPIEGELS LUSTIGE STREICHE; RESPIGHI: I PINI DI ROMA
1995

SIBELIUS: SYMPHONY No. 5, EN SAGA, 2 PIECES FROM KUOLEMA
1995

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY No. 9 "CHORAL"
1994

BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTO No. 5 "EMPEROR"
1994

BRAHMS: EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM
1993

SCHUBERT: SYMPHONY No. 9 "DIE GROßE"; SYMPHONY No. 8 "UNVOLLENDETE"
1993

DVORÁK: SYMPHONY No. 9 "FROM THE NEW WORLD"; BORODIN: IL PRINCIPE IGOR; BARTÓK: "ROMANIAN FOLK DANCES, FOR ORCHESTRA"
1993

BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTO No. 5 "EMPEROR"; SCHUMANN: "CONCERTO FOR PIANO IN A Minor"
1993

BRAHMS: SYMPHONY, No. 1, SYMPHONY, No. 2, SYMPHONY, No. 3, SYMPHONY, No. 4, VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY HAYDN, ALT-RHAPSODIE
1992

FRANK: SYMPHONY IN D Minor; WAGNER: SIEGFRIED IDYLL
1992

SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY No. 5, SYMPHONY No. 9
1992

FRANK: SYMPHONY IN D Minor; WAGNER: SIEGFRIED IDYLL, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE
1992

BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY No. 4 "ROMANTIC"
1992

STRAUSS: DON QUIXOTE "PHANTASTISCHE VARIATIONEN ÜBER EIN THEMA RITTERLICHEN CHARAKTERS", VIER LETZTE LIEDER "4 LAST SONGS"
1992

MOZART: REQUIEM "MISSA PRO DEFUNCTIS"; VIVALDI: STABAT MATER
1991

TCHAIKOWSKY: SYMPHONY No. 6 "PATÉTIQUE", ROMEO AND JULIET
1991

PROKOFIEV: SYMPHONY No. 5; ROMEO AND JULIET; VIOLIN CONCERTO No. 1
1991

SCHUMANN: SYMPHONY No. 2 "ZWEITE SINFONIE FÜR GROSSE ORCHESTER"; SYMPHONY No. 3 "RHENISH"
1991

RAVEL: MIROIRS, LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN, MA MÈRE L'OYE "CINQ PIÈCES ENFANTINES", RAPSODIE ESPAGNOLE "RHAPSODIE ESPAGNOLE"
1991

MOZART: Messa in Do min. K.427 "GROßE MASS"
1991

MUSSORGSKY: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
1991

BRAHMS: VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY HAYDN
1991

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: SCHEHERAZADE; MUSSORGSKY: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
1991

BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY No. 9; BRAHMS: VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY HAYDN
1991

RAVEL: BOLÉRO, MIROIRS, LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN, MA MÈRE L'OYE "CINQ PIÈCES ENFANTINES", RAPSODIE ESPAGNOLE
1991

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY No. 7; SCHUMANN: SYMPHONY No. 2 "ZWEITE SINFONIE FÜR GROSSE ORCHESTER"
1991

BERLIOZ: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE "EPISODE DE LA VIE D'UN ARTISTE", ROMÉO ET JULIETTE "SYMPHONIE DRAMATIQUE AVEC CHŒUR"
1991

BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY No. 7
1991

VIVALDI; HAYDEN; MOZART; MENDELSSOHN; TCHAIKOVSKY; DEBUSSY; BIZET; BUSONI
1990

Symphony, No. 4 "Romantic"
1990

Mass "Große Messe"
1990

Flute Concerto "Flute Concerto, No. 2"
1990

Concerto Di Capodanno
1989

Requiem "Missa Pro Defunctis"
1989

Scheherazade
1989

Symphony, No. 9 "From The New World"
1989

Music for the Flute
1969
Singles

Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite: Berceuse (1919 Version) [Live]
2022

Rossini: La Pie voleuse: Ouverture
2018
Live

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3 - 9, Te Deum & Mass No. 3 (Live)
2024

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 9 (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig)
2024

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Wagner" & 4 "Romantic" (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich)
2024

Bruckner: Symphonies No. 5 & 8 (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1993)
2024

Bruckner: Symphony No. 6, Te Deum & Mass No. 3 (Live)
2024

Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 In E-Flat Major Op. 82: II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto (Live)
2022

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (Live, 1991)
2022

Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works (Live)
2021

Schubert & R. Schumann: Orchestral Works (Live)
2021

Haydn & J.S. Bach: Orchestral Works (Live)
2021

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 – Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206 (Live)
2021

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique" - Monteverdi: Vespro della beata Vergine, SV 206 (Live)
2021

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100 – Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Live)
2021

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale" (Live)
2020

Mozart: Orchestral Works (Live)
2020

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral" (Live)
2020

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin, M. 68a (Live)
2020

Beethoven, Bach & Ravel: Orchestral Works (Live)
2020

Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (Live)
2015

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 - Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Franck: Symphony in D Minor (Live)
2015

Sergiu Celibidache Conducts Beethoven (Live)
2012

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Te Deum (Live)
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1890 Version) [Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1993]
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1995)
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 (1878 Version) [Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1993]
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 "Romantic" (1881 Version) [Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1988]
1998

Bruckner: Mass No. 3 in F Minor, WAB 28 (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1990)
1998

Bruckner: Mass No. 3 in F Minor (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1990)
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (1889 Version) [Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1987]
1998

Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 (Live at Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 1991)
1998

Symphony, No. 104 (Salomon)
1990

Symphony, No. 4 "Italienische"
1989
