Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache joins Gramophone's Hall of Fame

Classical music publication Gramophone has inducted Romanian composer and conductor Sergiu Celibidache (in picture) in its Hall of Fame. In a glorious twist of irony, Celibidache, who doggedly refused to make recordings during his conducting career, has joined Gramophone's Hall of Fame for his contributions to classical music recording. “Romanian-born and Berlin-trained Celibidache pursued an unusual career, largely due to his refusal to make any commercial recordings. Since his death, numerous radio broadcasts have been issued commercially,” writes Gramophone of Sergiu Celibidache. Gramophone ran a public vote on its website to select 50 new names for the Hall of Fame. Celibidache, who died in 1996, joined 14 other conductors nominated for 2013, including Mariss Jansons, Rafael Kubelík and Zubin Mehta. A new festival celebrating the life and works of Sergiu Celibidache is currently running in Romania. The festival Sergiu Celibidache 100, which marks 100 years since his birth, started on May 3 and continues until July 7. It will include a series of masterclasses, movie screenings, photo exhibitions and concerts. Celibidache’s composition Haz de necaz (roughly translated as ‘Making fun out of difficulties’) will also be launched in a worldwide premiere during the event. The eight-concert series will start on June 30 and end on July 7. All concerts will be held at the Romanian Athenaeum. Tickets for the event are priced at RON 65 and RON 75, depending on category. Buy tickets online here. See the full festival program for Sergiu Celibidache 100. Celibidache, who studied in Berlin, started his career at 33 as conductor at the Berlin Philarmonica after the Second World War. In 1979, he replaced the main conductor at the Munich Philarmonica. He was one of the most appreciated orchestra conductors of all time. He died in Paris, in 1996, aged 84. We wrote about him in our Famous Romanians article here.