Anton Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 7-9 / Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 5 - The Celibidache Edition [Box set] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
From ClassicsToday.com
Sergiu Celibidache felt a particular spiritual affinity with the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. They constituted the core of his repertoire, and he had very strong opinions about their performance, referring to other "so-called Bruckner conductors" as "camel drivers" who "haven't understood the first thing about Bruckner." Whatever one thinks of Celibidache's rhetoric, these live 1970's performances, part of Deutsche Grammophon's Celibidache Edition, allow us to hear how this famously elusive conductor (he hated recordings) actually played Bruckner. Celibidache protested that recordings were "not music", and philosophically, at least, he had a point. There are innumerable phenomena taking place during a performance that are not captured by sound recording devices. Perhaps it's these missing intangible aspects that bar these performances from the realm of the extraordinary. Because, despite all the legend and hype, what we have here is some pretty much standard Bruckner, recorded in not very good sound. By comparison, the later EMI recordings with the Munich Philharmonic (in first-class sound) feature readings that, with their amazingly slow tempos and shockingly sustained intensity of orchestral playing over the long time-spans, better represent Celibidache's musico-mystic image.

Symphony No. 7 runs a little over an hour on the DG set, and except for some added timpani rolls in the adagio's climax, comes off as pretty straightforward. The Stuttgart Eighth sounds rushed compared to the Munich performance, which clocked in at over 100 minutes. Only the finale's unusually broad pacing hints at the incredible expansion that was to come. Celibidache's Stuttgart Ninth, the freshest, most direct performance of the three, moves along in a very brisk manner which comes as a shock after his big, heavy and very long EMI account. Okay, so what's so special about this DG set? Perhaps the answer lies in Celibidache's concept of orchestral sound itself. Unlike his last years, during which he strove for ultimate clarity of inner detail and musical line, Celibidache's earlier Stuttgart style aims at just the opposite-- heavily blended sonorities, smoothed accents and rounded attacks--mannerisms that may have sounded transcendental in performance, but which in these dynamically limited and recessed recordings make the music sound soft-edged and underplayed. At least the EMI recordings present a Bruckner experience you won't hear anywhere else (whether or not you'll want to hear it very often remains an open question). Barring those, and unless you really want the coupled Schubert Symphony No. 5 (a fine reading) or the bonus disc of Celibidache painstakingly rehearsing the same few minutes of the Seventh and Eighth symphonies over and over (in German), go for Eugen Jochum's contemporaneous and far more idiomatic performances with the Dresden Staatskapelle on EMI.

Tracks:

1. Allegro Moderato
2. Adagio. Sehr Feierlich Und Sehr Langsam
3. Scherzo. Sehr Schnell - Trio
4. Finale. Bewegt, Doch Nicht Schnell

Tracks:

1. Allegro Moderato
2. Scherzo. Allegro Moderato - Trio. Langsam
3. Adagio. Feierlich Langsam; Doch Nicht Schleppend

Tracks:

4. Finale. Feierlich, Nicht Schnell
1. Allegro
2. Andante Con Moto
3. Menuetto. Allegro Molto - Trio
4. Allegro Vivace

Tracks:

1. Feierlich, Misterioso
2. Scherzo. Bewegt, Lebhaft - Trio. Schnell
3. Adagio. Langsam, Feierlich

Tracks:

First Movement: Rehearsal (Part 1)
Second Movement: Rehearsal (Part 2)
Third Movement: Rehearsal

Customer Reviews:

Staggering!.......2004-01-27

What incandescent music making we have here. Celibidache truly guides us though a magical journey of discovery and spirituality. Your idea of music is altogether changed after listening to Celibidache.

Celibidache not at his best.......2002-07-21

Celibidache was one of the strangest musical figures of the 20th century. He was one of the most gifted interpreters, and yet many have no idea who he is. Some critics like to refer to him as a cult leader- a megalomaniac leading a bunch of zombies through a corrupt world of musical fallacy.

I love Celibidache! I don't always agree with his choices, but in the end everything seems to make sense in its own way. Perhaps, his greatest gift as a conductor is that he tends to find music where others do not. For example(forgive me if this isn't specific) there are moments in Bruckner that some conductors just blow through until they get back to the main parts. In these "insignificant" sections, Celibidache might take it slower which gives the notes a deeper and more thoughtful meaning. You will hear and feel things in Celibidache's Bruckner that you won't anywhere else.

This particular set has some wonderful moments, but it is not nearly as good as the EMI cycle. At this particular stage Celi hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. The ninth in particular is sloppy and rushed to the point that it almost sounds like carnival music. The seventh is very good, quicker and more intense than the EMI. The eighth is also well done, but you'd be much happier with the EMI.

For those of you who already have the EMI recordings, who liked them and are interested in Celi's evolution, than the DG cycle offered here is a worthwhile purchase. But the truth is once you have the others, you really don't need these. And for those of you who never heard the EMI recordings, do yourself a favor and get them immediately. Your whole perception of Bruckner will change. You'll realize that Karajan and Jochum were just fishing for trout. They didn't realize that there were bigger things in the water.

I believe!.......2001-05-30

God, Allah, Jehovah, Om, are the only words that come to mind when listening to Celibidache conduct Bruckner. Listen and weep.

Music Review: