Celibidache

Remarkable, but mostly for Celibidache fans
This collection is primarily for Sergiu Celibidache fans, but also for those listeners who are interested in amazingly (at times excruciatingly) detailed and probing readings of these scores, readings that invariably reveal often unheard details - even to those who know the music very well. To my surprise, no Bruckner is included in the box: the composer most closely associated with this conductor who has given us memorable interpretations of his symphonies. But apparently another collection devoted to Celi's Bruckner as well as some individual DVDs are forthcoming. All in all, the video and (stereo) audio of these recordings (made between 1982 and 1994 [only the Strauss "Till Eulenspiegel" in 1965]) are somewhat dated, but mostly fine, with a few exceptions noted below.

DVD 1: Daniel Barenboim is the soloist in these technically quite good 1991 live recordings of the Schumann and Tchaikovsky (nr. 1) piano concertos with the Münchner Philharmoniker. The Schumann is...

A mixed bag, best for Celi afficianados.
If you have a spare 30 bucks, this is not the worst way to spend it. This release is actually five previously published dvds packaged in a cardboard slip cover - so, $6 a piece. Not bad.

Now to the subject matter. Celibidache was a conductor infamous for his glacial tempi, almost anal-retentive attention to minute details in balance and score, and insistence on three times the practice time as normally allowed.(Good thing he never got hold of the Mahler 9 last movement - after the first hour, we'd all be falling on our swords!) This resulted in the majority of his performances being with the Munich Phil., which was one of the few orchestras able to put up with him. Nothing if not opinionated about his peer conductors, it is said that he had few friends in that group.

There are four piano concerti in this set, all played by Daniel Barenboim. It should be said that Barenboim is able to coax the tempi upwards, so pianistically these are not particularly ponderous...



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