Celibidache Plays Mozart's Requiem

Conductor Sergiu Celibidache, who, in his lifetime, did not authorize recordings to be produced of his performances, had a rather unique perspective on tempo. In a nutshell, he believed that since either the ear or the microphone was only capable of capturing a finite amount of information in a given space of time, tempo was in part a function of the complexity of the music. Both Celibidache's son and former student make arguments defending this rationale in this CD's liner notes. From a purely academic standpoint, this makes sense; an incredible amount of nuance can indeed be lost to a rapid tempo. But if slower tempos are really required for more complex, note-laden music, the music of Mendelssohn would come almost to a standstill and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring would take a week to perform. In the present case of Mozart's Requiem, Celibidache's choice of extremely ponderous tempos throughout may be instructive for a while in that listeners can truly appreciate all of the subtle suspensions, inner voices, and other nuances. But listening to the cumbersome pace quickly becomes tedious. Even movements that are traditionally slower, such as the Tuba mirum and Sanctus, are made even broader. The performance of orchestra, chorus, and soloists is quite clean and well in-tune; the sound quality of the recording is also satisfactory. The tempo choice alone makes this CD a questionable choice for listeners seeking to discover Mozart's Requiem. ~ Mike Brownell, All Music Guide