In a class of his own
This 1959 radio recording shows Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache on top form
Sergiu Celibidache conducts Tchaikovsky and Haydn
Radio-sinfonieorchester Stuttgart/
Sergiu Celibidache
SWR Classic SWR 19118CD 75:29 mins Celibidache was once touted as Furtwängler’s successor in Berlin, but was supplanted by the more glamorous Karajan. Extremes of tempo characterised the performances of his later years, but in 1959, these were less pronounced, even if the opening Largo of Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 is on the stately side. After that, the Vivace is taut and lively, and there’s a similar contrast between the long lines in the Adagio and the elegance of the minuet. The Presto finale fairly zips along in its rhythmic confidence, and there’s coherent shaping throughout the whole symphony. In the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’, the journey has compelling surges of tempo and a wide dynamic range (and, for the record, is four minutes faster than Celibidache’s 1992 Munich performance). You might quibble with the slowing down in the central section of the lopsided waltz of the second movement, but the march has an inexorable momentum, and a plethora of textural detail, despite the slightly distant mono recording. It’s in the finale that Celibidache’s organic rubato and tonal concentration pay real dividends. An intensely moving experience. ★★★★