BBC Music Magazine

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. ★★★★

 ?? ?? A matter of time: Celibidach­e was famous for extremes of tempo
A matter of time: Celibidach­e was famous for extremes of tempo
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom