Celibidache was born in Romania. He went to Berlin in 1936 and in 1939 studied there at the Hochschule für Musik. He got a doctorate by writing about the Renaissance composer Josquin Desprez. He was lucky very early in his career to be appointed as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He stayed with them until 1952 when Wilhelm Furtwängler returned. He later worked with radio orchestras in Stockholm, Stuttgart and Paris. He also worked for a time in Britain, as well as touring in Europe and South America. From 1979 until his death he was music director of the Munich Philharmonic. He taught at Mainz University in Germany and in 1984 taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He liked teaching and often let students come to his lessons without having to pay.