These recordings were unearthed from the BBC archives. All the restoration work has been done from the original analog tapes. The works presented here are from a historic session in the London studios on June 30, 1959.

Sergiu Celibidache's penchant for meticulous orchestral balances and spacious tempi threatens to embalm Iberia's swaggering rhythms. On the other hand, the late conductor's patient, sumptuous detailing makes for one of the most riveting (and longest) versions of La Mer on disc. Every Debussy lover should try to hear it.

The Munich Philharmonic and Sergiu Celibidache share an exceptional legacy. He started his work as principal conductor in 1979 and remained in this position for as long as 17 years. Sergiu Celibidache played an integral part in making the Munich Philharmonic what it is today: an orchestra of worldwide renown.

Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Sergiu Celibidache und den Berliner Philharmonikern begann am 29. August 1945, im einem der tragischsten Momente der Orchestergeschichte. Das angestammte Haus, der Konzertsaal in der Bernburger Straße, lag zerbombt in Schutt und Asche, Chefdirigent Wilhelm Furtwängler durfte, auf sein Entnazifizierungsverfahren wartend, nicht dirigieren und Interimsdirigent Leo Borchard war wenige Tage zuvor versehentlich von einem amerikanischen Wachposten erschossen worden. Das verwaiste Orchester suchte händeringend nach einem Leiter, der die bereits geplanten Konzerte übernehmen konnte. Von den großen Dirigenten stand keiner zur Verfügung und so erhielt ein junger, unbekannter Hochschulabsolvent, der gerade den Dirigentenwettbewerb des Rundfunkorchesters gewonnen hatte, seine große Chance: Sergiu Celibidache. Der damals 33-jährige Rumäne, Schüler von Heinz Tiessen und Walter Gmeindl sowie ein großer Bewunderer Furtwänglers, besaß wenig Erfahrung, aber Talent, Ehrgeiz und Charisma.

Since Sergiu Celibidache s appointment as their chief conductor in 1979, the Munich Philharmonic developed into one of the finest orchestras in the world. Their performances of Bruckner, in particular, were in a class of their own and where orchestra and conductor truly excelled. It is in the symphonies of Anton Bruckner that the grandeur of the music unfolds organically, its power innocent of all brutality, its monumentality issuing from stillness and austerity. Says Celibidache, "Every performance of a Bruckner symphony is a first performance, every rehearsal is a thousandfold NO designed to achieve a single YES."

Today Daniel Barenboim is internationally recognized and revered as an orchestral and operatic conductor, pianist, and a musical ambassador and also as a humanitarian. Partnering him is the remarkable conductor Sergiu Celibidache. “He was one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”, says Barenboim. Sergiu Celibidache has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance.

Brahms’s two piano concertos are from opposite ends of his creative years… The first work evinces a titanic struggle, while the second is warmer and rounder, but no less passionate, and shows Brahms at his consummate best. Today Daniel Barenboim is internationally recognized and revered as an orchestral and operatic conductor, pianist, and a musical ambassador and also as a humanitarian. Partnering him is the remarkable conductor Sergiu Celibidache. “He was one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”, says Barenboim.

Since Sergiu Celibidache s appointment as their chief conductor in 1979, the Munich Philharmonic developed into one of the finest orchestras in the world. Their performances of Bruckner, in particular, were in a class of their own and where orchestra and conductor truly excelled. It is in the symphonies of Anton Bruckner that the grandeur of the music unfolds organically, its power innocent of all brutality, its monumentality issuing from stillness and austerity. Says Celibidache, "Every performance of a Bruckner symphony is a first performance, every rehearsal is a thousandfold NO designed to achieve a single YES."

Today Daniel Barenboim is internationally recognized and revered as an orchestral and operatic conductor, pianist, and a musical ambassador and also as a humanitarian. Partnering him is the remarkable conductor Sergiu Celibidache. “He was one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”, says Barenboim. Sergiu Celibidache has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance.
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 is one of the most popular of his compositions and among the best known of all piano concerti. The Schumann concerto is no less influential with its influence heard in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Both works show Barenboim at his consummate best.

Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance. Celibidache himself claimed that not a single French conductor was capable of conducting French music - a bold statement that makes this recording even more interesting. This DVD shows most of what made Celibidache a legend in his own lifetime and offers todays viewer to participate in the musical wonders he produced.

Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) has been called a "musical giant", a "magician" "a brilliant lion-tamer" and an enfant terrible of classical music. These films from 1965 and 1982 are among the very few visual records we have of the legendary rehearsal work of this highly charismatic Maestro; they provide a unique insight into his Stuttgart years, bringing to light the marvels he achieved with the Radio Orchestra, which he conducted from 1971-1983. Celibidache was a master Straussian and his reading of the symphonic tale Till Eulenspiegel ranks among the best recordings available. His version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade is full of sensuality and subtlety. Both documents last almost an hour - they give today's listeners an exclusive opportunity to observe Celibidache in rehearsal and concert, making it a must for lovers of symphonic music.