A rare opportunity to see the work of the great conductor Sergiu Celibidache (1912-96). He agreed to set aside his long-held antipathy to recordings of his work to enable the cameras to capture this concert from the Philharmonie in Munich, in which he conducts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Symphony No. 4
Maestro Celibidache (1912-96) was one of the most uncompromising figures in the music world, demanding three times as much rehearsal time as other conductors and with an ardent dislike of making recordings because he feared they misrepresented his musical intentions. This concert from the Herkulessaal in Munich captures one of the rare occasions on which he consented to a recording being made. He conducts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Piano Concerto in G Major
This live recording, from London’s Royal Festival Hall, of a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G features two legendary artists – pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-95) and conductor Sergiu Celibidache (1912-96). They perform with the London Symphony Orchestra. An introduction to the programme includes an interview with Celibidache about Michelangeli’s flawless, yet seemingly effortless, technique.
Magic Moments of Music – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli plays Ravel
The name Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) is still inextricably linked with Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. The way Benedetti Michelangeli articulates the trill chains, for example, is considered unique. At the same time, Benedetti Michelangeli is a great mystery: he was notorious for his numerous cancellations. The smallest discrepancies on the instrument, a small change in the room climate from rehearsal to concert were enough to cancel a performance. His reputation, as one of the greatest of his guild, is undisputed. Pianist Krystian Zimerman remembers his artistic exchange with Benedetti Michelangeli. For Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the Italian pianist is a declared source of inspiration as a magician of acoustics. Serge Celibidache, the son of Sergiu Celibidache, provides insights into the special artistic friendship of the two perfectionists. While Marina Baranova goes in search of Benedetti Michelangeli’s grand piano in Bavaria, Cord Garben, his producer, remembers the not always easy collaboration. Jazz musician Stefano Bollani, an admirer of Benedetti Michelangeli, explains how the composer Ravel was inspired by jazz music.