Prague, 6 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - The musical legacy of the late Romanian-born conductor Sergiu Celibidache will be released on compact discs by the EMI Classics group. The decision was announced Friday in Munich at a press conference given by the conductor's son, Serge Ioan Celibidache, representatives of EMI, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and city authorities.
Sergiu Celibidache was the musical director and conductor of the Munich Philharmonic from 1979 until his death last year. Although Celibidache made a number of records between 1945 and 1950, he stubbornly refused the release of any of his Munich performances on records, insisting that recordings compromised the spontaneity of a concert.
In a telephone interview today with our correspondent, Serge Ioan Celibidache said the first EMI CD will be released in August this year to coincide with the first anniversary of the conductor's death. A batch of other historic recordings from the archives of the Munich Philharmonic will be issued during the Autumn. EMI intends to release annually about 10 CDs from the Munich legacy, estimated at 250 concert programs.