Holst's The Planets

[Elgarian]

Really?  I don't think Bernstein's take on it is right at all

I've no idea whether it's 'right' in some absolute sense, or for anyone else. But it seems to me to come close to being the Planets that I always hoped would be out there somewhere. Of course I haven't heard Karajan yet. It's all still in the melting pot.

[eyeresist]

the distinctiveness of Gardiner

I have the Gardiner in the Eloquence reissue. It sounds great (it's the Concertgebouw recorded by Decca FFS) and Gardiner is completely in the English idiom. But I'm not sure it's quite special enough. Expert, but without the ultimate commitment necessary. IMHO.

[Elgarian]

I have the Gardiner in the Eloquence reissue. It sounds great (it's the Concertgebouw recorded by Decca FFS) and Gardiner is completely in the English idiom. But I'm not sure it's quite special enough. Expert, but without the ultimate commitment necessary. IMHO.

That's an interesting comment, and one that I'll take note of. Sarge's comment related to the fact that it took things particularly slowly. Is that something that strikes you about it? (Actual timings are less significant than the perceived tempo, I think.)

[The new erato]

Interestingly enough, last night I saw this:



The series -like its predecessor ,Inspector Morse ,has always utilised classical music for gravitas and Holst is deployed frequently in the episode.

Factual errors: During the concert, the orchestra play the movements of Holst's "Planets" in the wrong order. We hear Mars, followed by Jupiter, followed by Venus. The correct order is Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter

[eyeresist]

That's an interesting comment, and one that I'll take note of. Sarge's comment related to the fact that it took things particularly slowly. Is that something that strikes you about it? (Actual timings are less significant than the perceived tempo, I think.)

Dammit, I'm sorry - I was actually thinking of the recording by Marriner!

[ASIN]B000025KVX[/ASIN]

Marriner's timings are:
Mars       7.41
Venus     7.35
Mercury  3.59
Jupiter    8.10
Saturn    7.47
Uranus   5.25
Neptune 6.30

[Sergeant Rock]

That's an interesting comment, and one that I'll take note of. Sarge's comment related to the fact that it took things particularly slowly.

I want to clarifiy my comment: I only meant Mars is on the slow side. The other movements are actually swift with Jupiter almost as fast as Holst's own recording:

Holst 7:02
Gardiner 7:17

Gardiner's Planets is rather a stiff-upper-lipped affair. The CD has what I think is the most interestig coupling of any Planets: Percy Grainger's The Warriors: Music to an imaginary ballet for orchestra and three pianos.

Sarge

[Elgarian]

I want to clarifiy my comment: I only meant Mars is on the slow side. The other movements are actually swift with Jupiter almost as fast as Holst's own recording:

Holst 7:02
Gardiner 7:17

Ah! Thanks Sarge - all is clear!

[Elgarian]

Dammit, I'm sorry - I was actually thinking of the recording by Marriner!

No apology needed. Mistake highly understandable, because Gardiner and Marriner are mostly (67.5% in fact) the same - one being changeable to the other, one letter at a time, in only two moves, thus:
Gardiner
Mardiner
Marriner

On a dark night, nobody would be able to tell them apart.

[eyeresist]

Furthermore it is demonstrable that Robert Schumann and William Schuman were in fact the same person.

[Karl Henning]

Furthermore it is demonstrable that Robert Schumann and William Schuman were in fact the same person.

Fibber!

[eyeresist]

Fibber!

Did you ever see them together in the same place, huh, huh? Even Lois Lane would've figured it out!


Okay, I'll shut up now.

[Elgarian]

Steinberg has arrived!

Now I just need some time to listen to it....

[Karl Henning]

Now I just need some time to listen to it....

Time, and a planet . . . .

[DavidRoss]

Every so often I'm delightfully surprised by James Levine. His outing with the Chicago is one of my faves, with a wonderfully ominous Mars to kick it off. Surprised to see no mentions of it here.

[asin]B000001GCZ[/asin]

[Elgarian]

Every so often I'm delightfully surprised by James Levine.

And every so often I'm delightfully surprised by DavidRoss. Good to see you, Dave - been a while.

(I think I'll shortly be making some controversial comments about Steinberg's Planets.)

[Karl Henning]

Steinberg and the band that was not banned in Boston.

[Montpellier]

An interesting thread as I'm pondering an update. I have only the Previn/LSO version. It seemed to be received favourably in England some years ago and went on to become a "supercut" disc, whatever that might be.




I was also thinking about one of the Boult versions. I looked into Gramophone Magazine's archive to discover one by the New Philharmonia conducted by Adrian Bonk. The review also mentions a great English composer, Box, besides implying the Planets was composed by Hoist.

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%201967/47/773927/HOLST.+The+Planets,+Op.+32.+New+Phil+harmonia+Orchestra+conducted+by+Sir+Adrian+Bonk+with+the+Ambrosian+Singers.+HMV+474)+ALP2301+Q+ASD2301+(12+in.,+32s.+3d.+plus+5s.+9d.+PT).

I suppose optical digitising has a little way to go. 

[Elgarian]

I was also thinking about one of the Boult versions. I looked into Gramophone Magazine's archive to discover one by the New Philharmonia conducted by Adrian Bonk. The review also mentions a great English composer, Box, besides implying the Planets was composed by Hoist.

Bonk, Box, and Hoist. Sounds like a comic strip about three solicitors.




Gardiner/Philharmonia arrived a couple of days ago. I listened to Mars, and was (as Sarge suggested) struck by the slow tempo. Not a bad thing in itself: inexorable and slowly unfolding menace seems like a way to go ... except that in the case of Gardiner I couldn't pick up much in the way of menace. Just slowness, really. That's as far as I got at the time, but I don't have high hopes if this is anything to go by.



Steinberg too has arrived at last. This has been so praised here that I'm reluctant to post my impressions without further hearings, but I'll be surprised if they change all that much. The jaunty pace of Mars sounds more like marching toy soldiers than real ones, to me; and the 'hymn' section of Jupiter lacks all sense of gravitas, so essentially required for contrast with the general bacchanalistic joviality. I must clearly be missing something here, so will report back after more listening. But already it's becoming clear to me (unless Karajan stuns me when he arrives) that the likely personal outcome of my experiment  is going to be Bernstein and Boult, each differently outstanding and in a class of their own, with the others consigned to the 'worthy but for occasional listening only' drawer.


But nothing's carved in stone. I'm still listening.

[vandermolen]

This fine old recording has just been reissued and I really like the performances of the Bax and accompanying Holst work too.
[asin]B007HCM2XC[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Steinberg too has arrived at last. This has been so praised here that I'm reluctant to post my impressions without further hearings, but I'll be surprised if they change all that much. The jaunty pace of Mars sounds more like marching toy soldiers than real ones, to me; and the 'hymn' section of Jupiter lacks all sense of gravitas, so essentially required for contrast with the general bacchanalistic joviality. I must clearly be missing something here, so will report back after more listening. But already it's becoming clear to me (unless Karajan stuns me when he arrives) that the likely personal outcome of my experiment  is going to be Bernstein and Boult, each differently outstanding and in a class of their own, with the others consigned to the 'worthy but for occasional listening only' drawer.


But nothing's carved in stone. I'm still listening.

I'm not a fan of the Steinberg myself. I'd be happy to never listen to again, especially when there's several other performances more worthy of my time. Glad to see my recommendation of Bernstein is still the one you're preferring after hearing many others.