Album

Since he hated recording, Sergiu Celibidache's Bruckner recordings enjoyed a certain limited critical reputation in the later years of the twentieth century because most of his performances were available only as pirated air checks with awful sound and atrocious surfaces. But his death allowed recordings to be released and the birth of compact discs allowed listeners to hear his Bruckner recordings in pristine sound on practically perfect surfaces. Celibidache's performances have been released in as close to ideal circumstances as they are ever likely to get. In this collection of Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 3-5 and Nos. 7-9, the recordings reveal deeply eccentric performances with the occasional flash of soaring spirituality. Celibidache shifts tempos unmercifully and often incoherently: listen to the opening movement of his Seventh. Celibidache twists structures brutally and sometimes violently: listen to the opening movement of his Third. But there are performances that explain Celibidache's reputation: listen to the force, the strength, the depth, and the heights of his Eighth, surely one of the great recordings of the work. Leading the well-rehearsed but not often powerful enough Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Celibidache's performances are on the whole no better than Kurt Masur and no worse than Günter Wand. Deutsche Grammophon's live radio sound is clear enough, but a bit rough and raw.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.3 in D-, WAB103 ('Wagner') Work Recorded 1980 1:01:12 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Gemässigt, misterioso	23:39			$3.99
2	2.Adagio. Bewegt, quasi andante	17:12			$2.99
3	3.Scherzo: Ziemlich schnell	6:56			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Allegro	13:25			$2.49
CD 2 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.4 in Eb, WAB104 ('Romantic') Work Recorded 1969 1:08:40 Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Bewegt, nicht zu schnell	19:05			$3.49
2	2.Andante, quasi Allegretto	16:05			$2.99
3	3.Scherzo: Bewegt. Trio: Nicht zu schnell, keinesfalls schleppend	9:48			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell	23:42			$3.99
CD 3 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.5 in Bb, WAB105 Work Recorded 1981 1:23:11 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Adagio. Allegro	21:44			$3.49
2	2.Adagio, sehr langsam	23:08			$3.99
3	3.Scherzo: Molto vivace (Schnell)	13:34			$2.49

CD 4 of 8
1	4.Finale: Adagio. Allegro moderato	24:45			$3.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Symphony No.35 in D, K.385 ('Haffner') Work Recorded 1976 16:21 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
2	1.Allegro con spirito	5:12			$0.99
3	2.Andante	4:44			$0.99
4	3.Menuetto. Trio	2:46			$0.99
5	4.Finale: Presto	3:39			$0.99
CD 5 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.7 in E, WAB107 ('Lyric') Work Recorded 1971 1:06:32 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Allegro moderato	21:05			$3.49
2	2.Adagio: Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam	23:48			$3.99
3	3.Scherzo: Sehr schnell	9:45			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell	11:54			$1.99
CD 6 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.8 in C-, WAB108 ('Apocalyptic') Work Recorded 1976 1:23:19 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Allegro moderato	16:16			$2.99
2	2.Scherzo: Allegro moderato	13:51			$2.49
3	3.Adagio: Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend	27:08			$3.99

CD 7 of 8
1	4.Finale: Feierlich, nicht schnell	26:04			$3.99
Franz Peter Schubert Composer Symphony No.5 in Bb, D.485 Work Recorded 1979 28:01 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
2	1.Allegro	4:46			$0.99
3	2.Andante con moto	12:24			$1.99
4	3.Menuetto: Allegro molto	5:04			$0.99
5	4.Allegro vivace	5:47			$0.99
CD 8 of 8
Anton Bruckner Composer Symphony No.9 in D-, WAB109 ('Unfinished') Work Recorded 1974 59:18 SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache Conductor
1	1.Feierlich, misterioso	24:24			$3.99
2	2.Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft	11:11			$1.99
3	3.Adagio: Langsam, feierlich	23:43			$3.99