Sergiu Celibidache Followed through the Iron Curtain
Sergiu Celibidache Followed through the Iron Curtain

Summary/Abstract: Sergiu Celibidache, described as a drifter in his twenties, left for Germany in 1938 to study music, philosophy and mathematics. In the post-war upheavals he was appointed the Berlin Philharmonic’s conductor, the beginning of a remarkable international career. The communist authorities in Romania became interested in his contacts “in the highest capitalist circles”. They had him followed, courted and even considered recruiting him as an agent. His brother and sisters, about whom he cared a lot, were kept hostages in his native country. A belated reunion with his eldest sister in 1965, in Prague caused him pain and remorse. When he finally returned to conduct in Romania in the 1970s, he was hailed by members of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra but resented by its conductors. All this is documented in letters and in the archive of the former Securitate (Secret Police) researched by the author.

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