Haha! It looks like it’s actually on its way! A Sergiu Celibidache biopic starring who? Why, JOHN MALKOVICH, of course!
I first shared news of this in 2021, assuming of course that the film, being produced in Romania, would never happen. Then again, if it weren’t being produced in Romania – Celibidache’s homeland – where would it be?
Written and directed by the conductor’s son, Serge Ioan Celibidache, the title is “The Yellow Tie.” It’s not difficult to understand why they’re not calling it “Celibidache,” as it would have native English speakers everywhere trying to remember it and then grappling with the correct pronunciation (roughly “Cheh-lee-bee-DAH-keh.”).
Celibidache, one-time conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, gained notoriety for his uncompromising pursuit of “the transcendent moment,” his exhaustive rehearsals, and his refusal to record.
Of course, the market is flooded with Celibidache recordings, many of them from his years in Munich, but these are all byproducts of actual live concerts. Few of them could be described as pedestrian.
Equally, few would be described as “definitive.” When Celibidache was “on,” he could be like nobody else; but when he was “off” – again, he could be like nobody else.
Last year, I posted about Malkovich conducting an orchestra before 4000 extras in Bucharest, reenacting a concert that Celibidache gave in Philadelphia with the Munich Philharmonic in 1989.
Also in the film will be Sean Bean as (the younger) Celibidache’s father and Miranda Richardson as his wife, Ioana.
The release date is yet to be announced. I missed this article about it, which ran in Variety in May:
Of course, the most perfect title for John Malkovich fans would be “Being John Malkovich Being Sergiu Celibidache.”
One of my earlier posts on the subject:
Celi conducts Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7
Celi documentary, “The Garden of Celibidache”
Malkovich interviewed on Romanian television
Celibidache has a fever, and the only prescription is more viola!