We have been notified of the death of Beate Kayser, an influential critic and cultural personality, especially esteemed by Sergiu Celibidache.
Beate was 90.
Her son is the film and opera director Jan Schmidt-Garre, a student of Celibidache’s.
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There were many opinions about Celibidache. In 1992, Germany’s most famous classical music critic (who was literally a celebrity,) spoke about Celibidache in an interview. One passage was so choice the Suddeutsche Zeitung featured it along with a cartoon:
“And Sergiu Celibidache? I don’t have anything against him except that he is an asshole.”
But Herr Professor, an Emperor is of course not a beer man.
“Celibidache has the reputation of promoting young talent. I experienced him at the Schlesswig-Holstein Festival. How he dealt with these young people. It was terrible. He’s the type of dictator who strokes his German Shepard.”
The more Celi tyrannically abused the musicians, the more they and public groveled and adored him. It was a manifestation of some of the cultural foundations of German history, though to be fair other German cities like Stuttgart did not tolerate him. Nor did London, Paris, Stockholm, or Bologna.
Celi demanded a cult-like following from his devotees. Criticizing him generally results in the outraged behavior for which cultists are known.
The critic was Joachim Kaiser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Kaiser
“conductors are the most ignorant people in the musical field – after pressmen” – (Sergiu Celibidache 1978. Seems he was right 🙂
Supplement: Nobody remembers Joachim Kaiser anymore, and soon Mr. Osborne will be forgotten. Celi will live forever: that’s the difference!