Holst's The Planets

[TheGSMoeller]

Great job, Peter. Thanks for this insightful journey.

My favorites have always been Dutoit/Montreal and Mehta/NYP (1989). But I am so glad I've discovered the Gardiner/Philharmonia recording. Really anxious to get it on disc.

[Peter Power Pop]

Fully seconded, great job! I can now conclude that I'm the happy owner of Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12, 17, 19, 23, 31, 32, 35, 36, 44, 45, 51, 55, 58, 64, 70, in your ranking. Plus the Sargent BBC Radio live (1965) that you're still waiting for. And of course Planets for synthesizer (Rick Wakeman c.s. really horrible ) ...

I haven't heard the Jeff Wayne/Rick Wakeman/Kevin Peek prog-rock version of Them Planets. I reckon I can wait a little longer to hear it.

... and the two-pianos version.

I haven't heard that. But I have heard the organ version of "Mars". It's massive.

https://www.youtube.com/v/CwZkAgGuNdU

My own test has always been: try Saturn first, my favourite movement, and if that's okay I'll finish with a hopefully boisterous Uranus and mystic Neptune. This triptych is my personal highlight, a three-part 'symphony' on its own. If they really warmed me, I'll try the first four - a more classical symphony, with Venus as the slow movement and Neptune as a scherzo - as well.

I think that's a fascinating way to approach Them Thar Planets. I just listen to it from start to finish.

BTW, my Decca Solti 1979 (No. 44 in your list) is with the London Philharmonic and 'ladies of the London PO'), not the LSO. I now see in your review that's indeed the LPO.

Thanks for spotting that, Christo. It's been fixed.

[Peter Power Pop]

Gustav Holst: The Planets And Other Unearthly Music. (Hurst BPO)

Amazon (UK) has that for download, but not as CD.  Search on 'holst planets unearthly".

You can find 'em here:

Amazon.co.uk – MP3 download
Amazon.com – CD-R on demand

[Peter Power Pop]

 

My Planets:

5. HOLST          LSO
12. BERNSTEIN  NEW YORK
32. BOULT (79)  LPO
36. KARAJAN      VIENNA PHIL
37. RATTLE        PHILHARMONIA
42. PREVIN        RPO
43. STEINBERG  BOSTON
50. GARDINER   PHILHARMONIA
58. MEHTA         NEW YORK
70. MAAZEL        O NAT FRANCE
76. HERRMANN   LSO

Apparently I chose unwisely, mostly 

Sarge

Each to their own, baby. Each to their own.

[Peter Power Pop]

Oh I dunno, you could have done worse - David Owen Norris for BBC's Building a Library chose Järvi - No.40 in the list - and also liked Norrington (69) Colin Davis (75) and Herrmann.
(As well as, to be fair, Dutoit, Elder and Stokowski.)

That Building a Library episode focusing on The Planets can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p027rvhn

[Peter Power Pop]

My inventory, by Peter's ranking.

1 Dutoit
6 Goodman
30 Boult 1967
32 Boult 1978
36 Karajan 1961
50 Gardiner
59 Y-P. Tortelier

And have heard a few others.

My own ranking would move both Boults (and maybe Tortelier) up, Dutoit and Goodman down. For years Boult 1978 was my only recording, but if pressed for a current favorite I'd say his 1967.

I have 3 more in the Pile or on order:
2 Ozawa
34 Elder 1998
43 Steinberg

Excellent.

I probably wouldn't have considered Ozawa but for Peter's enthusiasm -- ...

Sorry about that.

... I listened skeptically to samples and it sounded fantastic. Elder was also Peter-inspired (from his description, not his ranking); also I wanted to hear a live recording, and this one was much cheaper at the time than the Jurowski. ...

You can't go wrong with Mark Elder's 1998 live recording. It's fabulous. (Oops. There I go with the hyperbole again.)

...Steinberg seems surprisingly polarizing; I'm not sure I'll like it, but I got the version coupled with Ligeti's Lux Aeterna, which I wanted anyway.

The Steinberg I bought was this one:



The coupling is a fantastic Elgar Enigma Variations conducted by Eugen Jochum:

https://www.youtube.com/v/i1bkeaWRhYE

But I must admit I bought the Steinberg Planets more out of a sense of duty than desire. (In the words of Pokémon, "Gotta catch 'em all!")

There are a couple others I want, but I'm hoping to keep my collection from getting totally out of hand (recognizing that at 10 recordings, it is already mildly out of hand).

10 is a nice round number. But so is 20, and 30, and 40...

[Peter Power Pop]

Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps?

That's not a bad idea.

But I went through a Rite of Spring phase last year. I listened to about 20 or so versions, and my favourite ended up being the 1987 recording by Riccardo Chailly. It's stunning.

[Peter Power Pop]

[snip]

I agree with you that no single recording of Holst's masterwork is perfect which means there will be more recordings aiming to add or address something.  So I predict we will all be discussing your list of 160 recordings of the Planets in ten years from now.

Yes please.

Sorry to hear of your health issues ...

No sweat. I manage. (Music helps enormously.)

... and hope you attend a performance sometime.  I know the musicianship in Australia is very strong and you might make it out to attend a university performance of Planets at least.

I'd like that. But logistically, The Planets is such an unwieldy beast that I doubt it's going to performed here any time soon. (Concert Program Manager on the Phone: "Can I order one incredibly large orchestra for March the 10th please? No? What? There aren't that many musicians in South Australia?")

[Peter Power Pop]

Hmm, I wonder if Peter dreams about the Planets at night (and during the day) after this long inspiring (exhausting?) journey through Holstian space...?

Nope. But I frequently wake up in the morning with one or more Planets tunes stuck in my head.

What's next?       

I hadn't thought of a "next".

But if you want to suggest anything, my official response is: "Go for it."

[Peter Power Pop]

Ozawa's is the one that grabbed me too from 3P's reviews. The German Amazon marketplace has quite a few copies, cheap. But do I really need another Planets?  ...

If it's Ozawa, then the answer is yes. Yes you do.

...There's the rub.

Sarge

As Jerry Seinfeld may have said, "There's no rub! No rub!"

[Peter Power Pop]

Perhaps this CD - Yutaka Sado conducting the NHK SO -  was overlooked? (Or I missed a good reason not to include it):

Ooh, another one!

Must. Find. Sado.

[Peter Power Pop]

Did Ozawa just record it once with the Boston SO?

Yep.

When I listened to it back in December it did not do much for me...

Fair enough.

This is truly a subjective realm!!

It sure is.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21492.msg857580.html#msg857580

Is this the same recording?
[asin] B0009N2VDM[/asin]

It is.

The Philips recording can be found in the recent Ozawa compilation:
[asin]B00MG8V7MY[/asin]

Eep! Buying a 50-disc box set is a pretty drastic way to get Ozawa's Planets. I mean, I like Say-You-Say-Me-Say-Iji a lot, but 50 discs? Hooley dooley, that's a lot of shelf space to take up.

[Peter Power Pop]

Bruckner 6th? No, seriously, I have about 10 new recordings since the BC. 

I'm unfamiliar with Bruckner. The only thing of his I've heard is his (apparently) most popular symphony, the one with the tune in the finale that gets repeated over and over again.

I've read in plenty of places that Bruckner is great ("enormous orchestral edifices", "cathedrals of sound" etc.), but I don't have any burning urges to hear his music.

[Peter Power Pop]

Great job, Peter. Thanks for this insightful journey.

My pleasure.

My favorites have always been Dutoit/Montreal and Mehta/NYP (1989). But I am so glad I've discovered the Gardiner/Philharmonia recording. Really anxious to get it on disc.

It's ultra-cheap on eBay, and I'll be buying it as soon I get more Planets money.

[NJ Joe]

My Planets:

1.   Dutoit
12. Bernstein
36. Karajan
43. Steinberg
50. Gardiner

I heard Rattle's Berlin recording (48) blind a few months ago and want to eventually get it.

[kishnevi]

BTW I have ordered the Dutoit off Amazon MP.

[Peter Power Pop]

And you recommend them all, huh? 

To remove that semantic problem, I've renamed the blog Peter's Planets:

https://petersplanets.wordpress.com/

But that only creates a new semantic problem. ("Peter's Planets"? Really? They're Peter's planets? No-one else's?)

I could give it the more accurate title, Peter Listened To A Lot Of Planets CD And Mentions Them All, but I won't. I'll keep it as Peter's Planets. Unless someone can come up with a better name.

[Peter Power Pop]

Bruckner 6th? No, seriously, I have about 10 new recordings since the BC. 

Oh, I forgot to ask earlier about your avatar:



Is Nikolaus ripping apart an imaginary phone book? Or exercising with his invisible bullworker?

[Peter Power Pop]

My Planets:

1.   Dutoit
12. Bernstein
36. Karajan
43. Steinberg
50. Gardiner

I heard Rattle's Berlin recording (48) blind a few months ago and want to eventually get it.

If you're OK with secondhand (but apparently "very good"):

$0.82 – Zoverstocks at Amazon.com

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind buying it at that price. But shipping to Australia is AUS$15. [Insert un-smiley face here]

[Moonfish]

Nope. But I frequently wake up in the morning with one or more Planets tunes stuck in my head.

I hadn't thought of a "next".

But if you want to suggest anything, my official response is: "Go for it."

I have Elgar pieces wandering in my mind...

Beethoven's 'Eroica' would perhaps be an interesting challenge..?