Is Gustav Holst a one hit wonder with THE PLANETS?

Started by arpeggio, October 22, 2017, 07:32:58 PM

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Is Gustav Holst a one hit wonder with THE PLANETS?

YES
3 (14.3%)
NO
17 (81%)
NO OPINION
1 (4.8%)

Total Members Voted: 20

Voting closed: January 20, 2018, 06:32:58 PM

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mc ukrneal

#40
July 30, 2018, 01:46:50 AM
Four! Mars was the first time I ever played 5/4 time. I loved it!
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Roasted Swan

#41
July 30, 2018, 03:13:27 AM
I like the Planets as much as the next person but they are most definitely *not* Holst's masterpiece - and that would be by his own definition.  The orchestration is impressive but not great, the work is uneven.  Imogen Holst could be a stern critic of her father's work and she relates not just her own but also her father's sense of what is lacking in the piece.  Something such as Savitri is a piece far closer to the essence of how Holst saw himself as a mature composer and to my mind that piece - and some of the other near-minimalist works - are where his real genius resides.  The Planets is the last of his post-Wagnerian excesses - and great fun it is too.

vandermolen

#42
July 31, 2018, 02:12:51 AM
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#43
July 31, 2018, 02:14:30 AM
Quote from: mc ukrneal on July 30, 2018, 01:46:50 AM
Four! Mars was the first time I ever played 5/4 time. I loved it!
Great to hear. What instrument were you playing?
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Karl Henning

#44
July 31, 2018, 03:03:16 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on July 31, 2018, 02:12:51 AM
Apologies Karl!
:)

No worries, Jeffrey!

Quote from: mc ukrneal on July 30, 2018, 01:46:50 AM
Four! Mars was the first time I ever played 5/4 time. I loved it!

Curiously, my first 5/4 experience was a piece for band . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Irons

#45
January 24, 2019, 01:37:57 AM
What Planet is this guy on! https://petersplanets.wordpress.com/
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Christo

#47
January 24, 2019, 11:29:39 AM
Quote from: Irons on January 24, 2019, 01:37:57 AMWhat Planet is this guy on! https://petersplanets.wordpress.com
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on January 24, 2019, 11:21:51 AM
don't go there!
Please do - best overview of The Planets recordings ever & all reviews written in great style.  ;D
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Irons

#48
January 24, 2019, 01:18:30 PM
Quote from: Christo on January 24, 2019, 11:29:39 AM
Please do - best overview of The Planets recordings ever & all reviews written in great style.  ;D

I agree. The chap doesn't take himself too seriously, the reviews are quite humorous. Number 30 on his list is my favourite version even though it never gets a mention. Peter liked it too so fair play to him.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Albion

#49
January 24, 2019, 01:21:42 PM
Holst had one of the most original musical minds of the early twentieth century, going his own way into new musical paths following The Planets, hence the rapid decline in appreciation of his later output. Certainly, Hammersmith and Egdon Heath are truly wonderful scores which deserve a place in the concert repertoire.

I would echo the call for the release of the BBC recording of The Perfect Fool (1923), and plead that it be coupled with the broadcast of the powerful Hecuba's Lament (1911)...

:)
A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it. (SG, 1922)

Peter Power Pop

#50
March 28, 2019, 04:09:48 PM Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 06:48:37 PM by Peter Power Pop
Quote from: Irons on January 24, 2019, 01:37:57 AM
What Planet is this guy on! https://petersplanets.wordpress.com/

Hey, that's me!

Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on January 24, 2019, 11:21:51 AM
don't go there!

Wise advice.

Quote from: Christo on January 24, 2019, 11:29:39 AM
Please do - best overview of The Planets recordings ever & all reviews written in great style.  ;D

Thanks, Christo.

Quote from: Irons on January 24, 2019, 01:18:30 PM
I agree. The chap doesn't take himself too seriously, the reviews are quite humorous. Number 30 on his list [Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / George Hurst] is my favourite version even though it never gets a mention. Peter liked it too so fair play to him.

Thanks, Irons.

Howdy, folks.

I haven't been on the forum in a while. Have I missed anything?

André

#51
March 28, 2019, 04:33:12 PM
Hey, Pepe le Pew !

Heard any new Planets recordings lately ?

Peter Power Pop

#52
March 28, 2019, 06:29:58 PM Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 06:35:47 PM by Peter Power Pop
Quote from: André on March 28, 2019, 04:33:12 PM
Hey, Pepe le Pew !

Heard any new Planets recordings lately ?

Not recently, but I know there are a few floating around.

Thanks to the daughter currently living in Japan (Hi, Celeste!), I now have two more Planets CDs:


I haven't heard them yet – but I fully intend to. Sometime.






Daverz

#53
March 28, 2019, 11:25:51 PM Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 11:57:22 PM by Daverz
Definitely not new, but I was finally able to track down the penultimate Boult recording with the Philharmonia streaming online, and it's a magical recording.  It's in this box:



https://listen.tidal.com/album/5961842
https://play.qobuz.com/album/5099909543355
https://open.spotify.com/album/2Q1sU5N7ij1QQIqWDzSGqL

But there is also this box, which has all of Boult's Planets recordings for EMI:

[asin]B00DSZUYY6[/asin]

I can't find this on any of the streaming services, though.



vandermolen

#54
March 29, 2019, 01:49:35 AM
Quote from: Daverz on March 28, 2019, 11:25:51 PM
Definitely not new, but I was finally able to track down the penultimate Boult recording with the Philharmonia streaming online, and it's a magical recording.  It's in this box:



https://listen.tidal.com/album/5961842
https://play.qobuz.com/album/5099909543355
https://open.spotify.com/album/2Q1sU5N7ij1QQIqWDzSGqL

But there is also this box, which has all of Boult's Planets recordings for EMI:

[asin]B00DSZUYY6[/asin]

I can't find this on any of the streaming services, though.

I have that set (the top one) which is very nice. I'd forgotten that The Planets was included  ::)

Also, nice to see PPP back again.  :)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Peter Power Pop

#55
March 29, 2019, 01:52:22 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on March 29, 2019, 01:49:35 AM
I have that set (the top one) which is very nice. I'd forgotten that The Planets was included  ::)

Also, nice to see PPP back again.  :)

Thanks, Magnificent V.

vandermolen

#56
March 29, 2019, 01:54:02 AM
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

André

#57
March 29, 2019, 04:48:33 AM
Quote from: Peter Power Pop on March 28, 2019, 06:29:58 PM
Not recently, but I know there are a few floating around.

Thanks to the daughter currently living in Japan (Hi, Celeste!), I now have two more Planets CDs:

I haven't heard them yet – but I fully intend to. Sometime.


What a sweet name! Do you by any chance have another daughter named Venus ?  ;D

Peter Power Pop

#58
March 29, 2019, 04:53:06 PM
Quote from: André on March 29, 2019, 04:48:33 AM
What a sweet name!

Thanks.

Quote from: André on March 29, 2019, 04:48:33 AMDo you by any chance have another daughter named Venus ?  ;D

Nope. Our other daughter is Natalie (Hi, Natalie!).

I got to name Celeste, and my wife chose Natalie's name.

Had I been given the chance for naming Natalie, I would have gone with something like Veronika or Isabella. (I'm Australian, but I love European names.)

André

#59
March 29, 2019, 06:03:40 PM
My wife got to name both of our daughters  ::). That was the easy part, as she knew what she wanted. Naming our son was a nine month long fight  :laugh:.
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