Holst's The Planets - your favourite movements

Started by madaboutmahler, November 06, 2011, 09:57:56 AM

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Which are your 3 favourite movements from Holst's The Planets?

Mars
Venus
Mercury
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Philip Legge

Without knowing it had no votes as yet, I took pity on Mercury and gave it my 3rd vote. The quicksilver bitonality and scintillating string passages, along with the gorgeous Scheherazade-like moment in the Trio is an example of Holst's masterly scoring.

Uranus and Neptune were my 1st and 2nd – though I'd vote for all seven movements given a chance!

Thanks Dax for pointing out the thematicisation of GTvH's name.

Neptune is astonishingly voluptuous and austere – I love the rich bitonal chords in the middle section. It's also a piece I've sung in concert – no one can really tell you're not a female when singing in an off-stage women's double chorus. :D

The new erato

The one disc that made me aware that Holst was moere than a one hit composer (and I truly don't find the Planets that interesting), was this disc:

[asin]B004I65C6Y[/asin]

It prompted an expansion of my Holst collection that proved to be well worth it. The Fennell disc is marvelous, I've had it since LP days, and for years I considered his Suites for military orchestra his greatest music. Now that position belongs to Savitri. 

mszczuj

Jupiter
then Mars
then probably Neptune - but I'm not quite sure - Uranos may be my other choice.

Szykneij

Quote from: Dax on November 07, 2011, 12:44:30 AM
When you next watch Spielberg's Jaws, notice how much of the music is a Planets rip-off.

"Jaws" sounds more like the beginning of the 4th movement of Dvorak's Ninth to me.
Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it.  ~ Henry David Thoreau

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines. ~ Satchel Paige