Holst: The Planets

[aligreto]

Holst: The Planets [Lloyd-Jones]





There is nothing that I do not like about this version of The Planets; the interpretation, the performances and the sound quality all hold their own with most of the rest of the field that I have heard. Mars is particularly assertive, bellicose and even ferocious; it is an excellent presentation. Venus is a supreme contrast here being as light as gossamer and eternally serene. Mercury flits about wonderfully on lithe wings. Jupiter is big, bold and brash to begin with but eventually controls himself. The big, main theme is a powerful, choral like affair. Saturn is a suitably measured, contemplative and intense reading with plenty of gravitas. Uranus is brash, ever the showman, is full of tricks and has great presence. Neptune is suitably remote, atmospheric and delicate and the choir is eerie and atmospheric.
Lloyd-Jones also includes Pluto, The Renewer written by Colin Matthews for those who may be interested, but I discount it.

[vandermolen]

I think that 'Pluto' was a very bad idea, especially as it was downgraded from being a planet just at the time it was written! At least Matthews had the decency to bring back the end of Neptune for the conclusion.

[aligreto]

I think that 'Pluto' was a very bad idea, especially as it was downgraded from being a planet just at the time it was written! At least Matthews had the decency to bring back the end of Neptune for the conclusion.

Indeed. Either way the music is not by Holst so totally superfluous.

[vandermolen]

Indeed. Either way the music is not by Holst so totally superfluous.

Agreed - totally pointless IMO.

[calyptorhynchus]

I've recently been listening to a few versions and I think that a criterion for telling whether a recording of this work is a good one or not is whether they try to substitute a bassoon for the bass oboe in Saturn. It won't do!
The bass oboe in Previn's recording is particularly good.

[Biffo]

Agreed - totally pointless IMO.

This reminded me of another pointless exercise. Several years ago the Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle (?) commissioned four (five?) additional minor planets. Given that the minor planets are all cold, distant worlds all the works reflected this ie. all sounded pretty much the same. To me, only one of them had any originality. I now can't remember any of the composers (all new to me) or any of the planets. I am not even sure if the post with its links was in this forum. Anyone else remember this?

[pjme]

From german Wiki:
Im März 1972 dirigierte Leonard Bernstein in seinem "Young People's Concert" die Planeten-Suite und ergänzte sie mit einer Improvisation namens "Pluto, the Unpredictable".[7]

Im Jahre 2000 komponierte Colin Matthews auf Anregung des Dirigenten Kent Nagano für das Hallé-Orchester einen achten Satz ,,Pluto, der Erneuerer" (Pluto, the Renewer), der dem damals noch als Planet eingestuften, vier Jahre vor Holsts Tod entdeckten Pluto gewidmet ist. Die Uraufführung des Werkes von Matthews fand mit dem Hallé-Orchester unter Nagano am 11. November 2000 in Manchester statt. Seither wird es oft in neueren CD-Aufnahmen miteingespielt.

2006 wurden unter dem Konzert-Titel Ad Astra vier weitere Werke, die inspirativ mit der Holst-Suite in Verbindung stehen, durch die Berliner Philharmoniker unter Sir Simon Rattle uraufgeführt, und zwar von Kaija Saariaho (Asteroid 4179: Toutatis), Matthias Pintscher (towards Osiris), Mark-Anthony Turnage (Ceres) und Brett Dean (Komarov's Fall).

2014 schuf schließlich als letzte Ergänzung Clément Mepas aus Mâcon (Frankreich) den Satz ,,Erde" ( Terre ), auch genannt ,,Erde: Lebensbringerin".[8][9]
https://youtu.be/MbHQ6eWANIo

[Biffo]

From german Wiki:
Im März 1972 dirigierte Leonard Bernstein in seinem "Young People's Concert" die Planeten-Suite und ergänzte sie mit einer Improvisation namens "Pluto, the Unpredictable".[7]

Im Jahre 2000 komponierte Colin Matthews auf Anregung des Dirigenten Kent Nagano für das Hallé-Orchester einen achten Satz ,,Pluto, der Erneuerer" (Pluto, the Renewer), der dem damals noch als Planet eingestuften, vier Jahre vor Holsts Tod entdeckten Pluto gewidmet ist. Die Uraufführung des Werkes von Matthews fand mit dem Hallé-Orchester unter Nagano am 11. November 2000 in Manchester statt. Seither wird es oft in neueren CD-Aufnahmen miteingespielt.

2006 wurden unter dem Konzert-Titel Ad Astra vier weitere Werke, die inspirativ mit der Holst-Suite in Verbindung stehen, durch die Berliner Philharmoniker unter Sir Simon Rattle uraufgeführt, und zwar von Kaija Saariaho (Asteroid 4179: Toutatis), Matthias Pintscher (towards Osiris), Mark-Anthony Turnage (Ceres) und Brett Dean (Komarov's Fall).

2014 schuf schließlich als letzte Ergänzung Clément Mepas aus Mâcon (Frankreich) den Satz ,,Erde" ( Terre ), auch genannt ,,Erde: Lebensbringerin".[8][9]
https://youtu.be/MbHQ6eWANIo

ja Saarhio

The works in the 2006 concert must be the ones I was thinking of - only the piece by Kaija Saariaho made any impression, the others seemed pretty much interchangeable. I had forgotten one of the composers was Turnage - I had heard of him.