The Imcomparable Celibidache - Box Set

The conductor Sergiu Celibidache was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerising orchestras with his intensity and brilliance, both inrehearsals and in performances --- which were always conducted frommemory.
The Incomparable Celibidache box-set celebrates the historic release on DVD of rare footage of performances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI between 1969-70.

Reviews

"Sergiu Celibidache's Bruckner is often monumental. It is also revelatory in a way no other Bruckner conductor equals. Celibidache conducts these great symphonies as if he were King Lear himself, for in every bar of Bruckner's scores he scales heights of pathos and emotion most other conductors simply do not see in Bruckner's writing." (Musicweb International - Bruckner)

"His intense, finely balanced and deeply felt interpretations made him one of the greatest names in twentieth century orchestral conducting. Above all, he was a superb technician." (All Music Guide - Berlioz)

"Even with a reduced orchestra, Celibidache creates a full sound here. But there's also some energetic and precise phrasing, lightness in the fast movements, and obvious enjoyment from a beaming conductor." (BBC Music Magazine - Mozart)

"... Celibidache foregoes the work’s usual sweet, playful charm for a different kind of 'classical' grace, serious yet light, and suffused with nobility. In the process he conjures inner voices and intricate rhythms that emerge with both extraordinary delicacy and convincing power ... While transitions are continuous and smooth, Celi creates a kaleidoscope of shifting colours that we don’t often associate with Prokofiev." (classicnotes.net - Prokofiev)

"Celibidache makes the most of Prokofiev's balletic moments, and has a keen sense of pacing and balance in Strauss. The sound could be more opulent, both from the orchestra, and as recorded." (BBC Music Magazine - Prokofiev)

"1969 is long enough ago in the history of sound and vision to feel primitive compared to today's technology, but Opus Arte has buffed up this black-and-white Italian TV original to some purpose. As has Maestro Celibidache Turin's RAI orchestra, whose every section shows off the care of his characteristically detailed rehearsal. It translates into a reading whose tempi and dynamics have been tailored with the care of a wonderful listener to the band and the hall at hand ... A stylish, detailed note by Misha Donat and sensitive work by RAI's camera director - following the score's high-points without indulging in visual ping-pong - add to the value of a release that promises to be the first of a series." (Gramophone - Berlioz)