Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Those of you who have found your way to this website on a search for Sergiu Celibidache are very welcome but this review is probably going to be far too general for you. Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) was a Romanian conductor with a somewhat eccentric reputation as he refused to record in the studio thus official releases are few and far between although more are being made available to counter the, ahem, less than official releases that are out there if you know where to look. The fact that this release is under the auspices of the Istituto Discografico Italiano tells us that Celibidache still has admirers in high places. Celibidache had his own musical philosophy which sometimes led him to approach pieces at unusual tempos, most notably his takes on Beethoven. However this recording of Brahms' beloved Deutsches Requiem, although slightly on the slow side, nevertheless works, as the piece should not be rushed. His soloists are very good too: Agnes Giebel, soprano, and Hermann Prey, baritone. But there is a "but". This is a live recording from 1960 and the audio quality is a long way short of perfect. At some points it does not matter too much: no audience has ever sat totally silent through more than an hour of music and we can live through the occasional shuffle in the background. However, the quality of recording for choir and orchestra is poor - not the playing and singing but just the audio experience in general. No doubt fans of Sergiu Celibidache will order this and rejoice that another concert has made it on to CD but the general listener who wants to hear Brahms as Brahms should be heard is advised to try elsewhere.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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