Holst's The Planets

[Mirror Image]

Where's Earth?

Wherever Pluto may be.

[mc ukrneal]

They must be exceptionally well coordinated, because it sounds like one monster tuba to me.

One thing I really liked about

the Mehta recording was how audacious it was. Instruments just leapt out at you while you were listening. I loved it.

Er... (See below)

Nah, you can disturb me all you like (Cluck.)

I won't be posting the top 10 until the list has been finalised.

I can say that I've reviewed and ranked every recording I've listened to so far, and so far I've heard 72 recordings. Some dude on MusicWeb says "At present there are over 80 recordings of this work available on CD", but I've only been able to find about 75.

Planets Recording Number 73 is getting a listen today, and that's the Ozawa. If that review doesn't appear on the blog in a few hours, then it's a safe bet it made it into the Top 10. Or I forgot to post the review.

The others I haven't heard yet are:

• Paul Freeman, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, 2002 (available on CD here)¹
• Hilary Davan Wetton, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1989 (not available anywhere)²
• Leopold Stokowski, NBC Symphony Orchestra, 1943 (who knows?)³

Trivia: I have a very strong urge to call Mr. Davan Wetton's first name "Hilarity". You won't believe how strong that urge is.

What you're seeing on the blog at the moment is me posting random reviews. When I've finally finished reviewing everything I was able to find, I'll post all the reviews along with their ranking, starting with the lowest number and working up to number 1.

I'll post the Herrmann review, but I have to warn you: It ain't pretty.

Confession: The Bernard Herrmann recording of The Planets is actually last on the list. (Yes, it's officially the worst Planets recording I have ever heard.)



Notes:

¹ I've been buying nothing but Planets CDs, and ran out of money (again). Given its cost (about AUS$18), I've been reluctant to buy that one. (All the others have been much cheaper.) I'm itching to get this list done, so the Czech recording may not end up on it.

² I'm going to contact Hilarity himself to see if he has a spare copy.

³ I don't know if this has ever been released on CD.[/list]

This may be of interest to you re Wetton: http://members2.boardhost.com/MusicWebUK/thread/1277108910.html. Looks like the email is there too for you to contact him.

Re: Stokowski, this site is a godsend: http://www.classical.net/music/guide/society/lssa/disco.php and this appears to be that release: [asin]B00002MXR6[/asin]

[Peter Power Pop]

This may be of interest to you re Wetton: http://members2.boardhost.com/MusicWebUK/thread/1277108910.html. Looks like the email is there too for you to contact him.

Thanks, mc ukrneal. (A part of me wants to give you a rap name: "MC Unreal").

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an email address on that page (I couldn't find one anywhere), so I posted this message.

Re: Stokowski, this site is a godsend: http://www.classical.net/music/guide/society/lssa/disco.php and this appears to be that release: [asin]B00002MXR6[/asin]

Amazon.com has that Cala disc, but it's way out of my "What I'm Prepared To Pay For The Planets" price range. Shipping is gruesome from Amazon.com to here in Australia – it's about $13. Shipping is cheaper from Amazon.co.uk, but it's still too pricey for me.

eBay has one copy of it, but that's even more expensive than the Amazons.

Grrr.

(I've been spoiled with Planets CDs – I've paid between $4 and $12 for each of them so far.)

Thanks, anyway, for letting me know about the Classical.net review. At least I know what to look for now.

[Peter Power Pop]

Another one:

Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, 1995

[kishnevi]

Another one:

Adrian Leaper, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, 1995

El Mahler de Senor Leaper con la orquesta misma es de qualidad similar.

[Peter Power Pop]

El Mahler de Senor Leaper con la orquesta misma es de qualidad similar.

Er, fair enough.

[Peter Power Pop]

El Mahler de Senor Leaper con la orquesta misma es de qualidad similar.

Incidentally, "Señor Leaper" is now one of my all-time favourite names. It takes pride of place alongside:

Mars Bonfire
Merlin Patterson
Hephzibah Menuhin
Engelbert Humperdinck
Windscreens O'Brien

And yes, those are all real names. Except for Windscreens O'Brien, which actually was the name of an Australian company. The company is still active, but they no longer call themselves Windscreens O'Brien. They decided to change their name to the ultra-boring O'Brien Glass Industries Limited. Yawn. At least their old logo is still around:

[Peter Power Pop]

....not unexpected though. I didn't have much hope you'd approve of Herrmann's way with The Planets.

Sarge

Steel yourself, Sarge, because here are the Herrmann Planets:

Bernard Herrmann, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1970

[Christo]

Steel yourself, Sarge, because here are the Herrmann Planets:
Bernard Herrmann, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1970

Sarge will be relieved to read your most positive review (albeit the only one) of the final bars of Mars: "the ending, from 8:05 onwards, is OK". 

[Peter Power Pop]

Sarge will be relieved to read your most positive review (albeit the only one) of the final bars of Mars: "the ending, from 8:05 onwards, is OK". 

We shall see. (Hi, Sarge!)

[André]

Ha ! The powers of imagination ! The Herrmann Planets have always stimulated a lively response from lovers and haters alike. It's all related to the level of interaction between the lower part of the thyroid glans and the pituitary when the full moon happens to be below Jupiter. You either have a musical orgasm or a puke of the highest order. You can't fight your thyroïd.

[Peter Power Pop]

Ha ! The powers of imagination ! The Herrmann Planets have always stimulated a lively response from lovers and haters alike. It's all related to the level of interaction between the lower part of the thyroid glans and the pituitary when the full moon happens to be below Jupiter. You either have a musical orgasm or a puke of the highest order. You can't fight your thyroïd.

Well, that's one way of looking at it.

Incidentally, I like the umlaut.

[Pat B]

Ha ! The powers of imagination ! The Herrmann Planets have always stimulated a lively response from lovers and haters alike. It's all related to the level of interaction between the lower part of the thyroid glans and the pituitary when the full moon happens to be below Jupiter. You either have a musical orgasm or a puke of the highest order. You can't fight your thyroïd.

I listened to the first half, then removed it from my consider-buying lïst.

[Peter Power Pop]

Ha ! The powers of imagination ! The Herrmann Planets have always stimulated a lively response from lovers and haters alike. It's all related to the level of interaction between the lower part of the thyroid glans and the pituitary when the full moon happens to be below Jupiter. You either have a musical orgasm or a puke of the highest order. You can't fight your thyroïd.

I listened to the first half, then removed it from my consider-buying lïst.

I hear ya, Pat B. I want to buy all available CDs of The Planets, but unless that Herrmann disc is $2 on eBay, I ain't gonna be in any hurry to buy it.

Speaking of eBay, it's currently AUS$12.40 there. It's a double-CD, which sounds like a bargain, but it has the Bernard Herrmann Planets on it.

[Peter Power Pop]

Here's the not-terribly-good Maazel recording:

Lorin Maazel, L'orchestre de France, 1984

[TheGSMoeller]

Let me say that I'm enjoying this exploration of The Planets. Thanks to Peter Power Pop for diving so deeply into this, it's pages like these that make GMG so special.

This was one of the Planets discs that was intriguing to me. I've been exploring more of Gardiner's brilliance on record over the past few years, spanning centuries from Bach to Janacek, and there's one element that seems to be a real focus on his performances, the tightly structured and cleanliness of the playing from the orchestras. This Planets with The Philharmonia is exceptional from a technical standpoint. As a former brass player and still with friends and family that play professionally, the performer's  technique is always an area of interest when listening, and while studying this recording I was amazed at some of the results. The Philharmonia was always exact on their execution of accents, staccatos and other notations. The tenor tuba solo in Mars was cleanly audible and never sluggish which seems to plague some performances, perhaps it's the larger valves. The double-tongue from the brass was just as clean and exact, and the syncopations in Uranus are firm. In fact, firm is a great description of the entire piece. If there is anything lacking it's more than likely arriving from Gardiner's choice of tempi and phrasing of several key build ups. My biggest quibble is with Saturn, it feels young and sprightly rather than of old age. But going back to my primary point, the playing is so exciting and fervent that tempo choices don't have nearly the effect as it usually might. In short, I love this performance. It's a similar reaction I had to Gardiner's disc of Rach's Symphonic Dances with NDR, or Schubert's 9th with Vienna. He doesn't seem to push and pull the music as often to result in a more dramatic reading, but rather focuses on the composer's notes and those that are portraying those notes, and pulls the dramatics from within.
I will admit that I've been away from The Planets for years, and my 3-4 main choices of recordings years ago were based on how loud the brass played. I've grown out of that phase thank goodness. I'm ready to hear some more recordings.


[asin]B000001GP6[/asin]

[Sergeant Rock]

We shall see. (Hi, Sarge!)

Hey, 3P....I have not read your review yet. I'm waiting for you to finalize the list.

Sarge

[Peter Power Pop]

Hey, 3P....I have not read your review yet. I'm waiting for you to finalize the list.

Sarge

Thanks for your patience, Mr. Sarge Man.

I'm itching (itching!) to finalise things and post every review, but the list isn't complete yet. Although I've reviewed 73 recordings, there are three two more that I know of but can't get, for a variety of reasons (out of print, or out of my price range).

These are the three two that are holding up proceedings:

Leopold Stokowski,
NBC Symphony Orchestra,
1943 – found it on Spotify



Hilary Davan Wetton,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
1989



Paul Freeman,
Czech National Symphony Orchestra,
2002

[Peter Power Pop]

Let me say that I'm enjoying this exploration of The Planets. ...

Me too. I've had a blast listening to all those Planets.

... Thanks to Peter Power Pop for diving so deeply into this, ...

No problem.

... it's pages like these that make GMG so special.

This was one of the Planets discs that was intriguing to me. I've been exploring more of Gardiner's brilliance on record over the past few years, spanning centuries from Bach to Janacek, and there's one element that seems to be a real focus on his performances, the tightly structured and cleanliness of the playing from the orchestras. This Planets with The Philharmonia is exceptional from a technical standpoint. As a former brass player and still with friends and family that play professionally, the performer's  technique is always an area of interest when listening, and while studying this recording I was amazed at some of the results. The Philharmonia was always exact on their execution of accents, staccatos and other notations. The tenor tuba solo in Mars was cleanly audible and never sluggish which seems to plague some performances, perhaps it's the larger valves. The double-tongue from the brass was just as clean and exact, and the syncopations in Uranus are firm. In fact, firm is a great description of the entire piece. If there is anything lacking it's more than likely arriving from Gardiner's choice of tempi and phrasing of several key build ups. My biggest quibble is with Saturn, it feels young and sprightly rather than of old age. But going back to my primary point, the playing is so exciting and fervent that tempo choices don't have nearly the effect as it usually might. In short, I love this performance. It's a similar reaction I had to Gardiner's disc of Rach's Symphonic Dances with NDR, or Schubert's 9th with Vienna. He doesn't seem to push and pull the music as often to result in a more dramatic reading, but rather focuses on the composer's notes and those that are portraying those notes, and pulls the dramatics from within.

I will admit that I've been away from The Planets for years, and my 3-4 main choices of recordings years ago were based on how loud the brass played. I've grown out of that phase thank goodness. I'm ready to hear some more recordings.

[asin]B000001GP6[/asin]

Thanks for your perspective, TGSM. I'm fascinated by how other people listen to music, and why they like what they like, so I welcome your thoughts with a lot of interest.

I agree with you about the cleanliness of execution (the Philharmonia play exceptionally well), but for me that wasn't enough. I found it all a bit too restrained. It sounded like John and the gang were on their best behaviour. ("Whatever you do, don't mess up!")

By the way, if you ever want to get back into your loud-brass phase, the 1971 Mehta recording is the one for you.

[André]

Me too. I've had a blast listening to all those Planets.

No problem.

Thanks for your perspective, TGSM. (I'm fascinated with how other people listen to music, and why they like what they like.) I agree with you about the cleanliness of execution (the Philharmonia Orchestra play exceptionally well), but for me that wasn't enough. I found it all a bit too restrained. It sounded like John and the gang were on their best behaviour. ("Whatever you do, don't mess up!")

By the way, if you ever want to get back into your loud-brass phase, the 1971 Mehta recording is the one for you.

How true That Gardiner Planets is one of those I can't stand - because it does not stand for anything. It's like pure protons, neutrons and eletrons. It all fails to collide, connect and amalgamate into meaningful molecules. And the least said about his Schubert 9th, the better  - (sorry GS  ). . The Gardener has no idea how to make the viennese rythms in the Scherzo sound natural. He simply plays every single occurence the exact same phoney way.

Well, that's howit sounds to me anyways. I like Herrmann and dislike Gardiner.

BTW PPP, if ever a Norrington version comes across - played on period instruments no doubt, I delegate to you the chore task of writing a review !