MMM | Sergiu Celibidache & Berliner Philharmoniker

01 SEPT 2024: When they denied him the position of chief conductor, a rupture occurred. The reconciliation concert became a great moment in music after 38 years.

It was only through the request of the then Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker that the concert came about in 1992. The legendary Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache and the Berlin Philharmonic were to be reconciled. Celibidache had shaped the orchestra in over 400 concerts between 1945 and 1954 after the end of the Second World War. When, after the death of Wilhelm Furtwängler – long-time chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic – the orchestra chose Herbert von Karajan as his successor instead of Sergiu Celibidache, a dispute arose, and the two eventually parted ways. Celibidache withdrew, deeply offended, and refused any offer of further collaboration.

It took 38 years for Celibidache to return to the podium of the Berlin Philharmonic. It went down in music history as the so-called "reconciliation concert". Celibidache made it a condition that he would receive twice as many rehearsals as usual. The programme included Anton Bruckner's 7th Symphony. Before the musicians, Celibidache confessed that the Berlin Philharmonic had played a "determinant role" in his life, and he had the opportunity to make his "first musical and human experiences" there.

In addition to rehearsal and concert excerpts, the film features Celibidache's son, Serge Ioan Celebidachi, contemporary witnesses from the Berlin Philharmonic, the orchestra's horn player Sarah Willis, the young French conductor Marie Jacquot, his last conducting student Rémy Ballot, and Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru, providing insight into Celibidache's personality, working methods, and understanding of music.

Duration 43 min / 52 min
English series title Magic Moments of Music
Author Holger Preuße, Philipp Quiring
Co-Producer Christopher Janssen
Producer Claus Wischmann
Production Company ZDF/Arte, sounding images