Gustav Holst: The Planets, Op 32

Gustav Holst (Composer), André Previn (Conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: André Previn
• Composer: Gustav Holst
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CU0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,224 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > General Modern
  • #81 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > General AAS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now, the Planets Are Aligned, June 11, 2003

By 

"grok_" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gustav Holst: The Planets, Op 32 (Audio CD)

The most popular selections from this suite are Mars, Jupiter, and to a lesser degree, Uranus. For those as yet unfamiliar with Holst, all of the selections will become very listenable and memorable. Here, Mars is ominous and menacing, and Jupiter is bold and bouncy, just as they should be.

Previn finds the right balance with the orchestra, so the strings and brass do not overshadow each other. In the lesser-known movements, Previn exhibits an understanding for English composers, evident here as well as with his Vaughn Williams performances. And, what better orchestra than the LSO! However, what impresses most about this performance is the tempi of both Mars and Jupiter. The pace of Bernstein and Karajan is too fast: Ormandy is much too slow. Previn (and Dutoit and Solti) finds the pace that enables expression without being ponderous.

Sonically, this may be the best recording of The Planets available. Telarc engineered this in its typical, flawless way. There is great interplay between instruments here, and Telarc captures them with great clarity. The buoyant movements with The Planets really benefit from the wide dynamics.

All in all, this CD has everything in its favor. The Planets are indeed aligned. Five bright stars.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar performance !, May 19, 2002

By 

jean couture (Quebec city - Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gustav Holst: The Planets, Op 32 (Audio CD)

Gustav HOLST's famous orchestral suite 'The Planets' is, without an ounce of a doubt, one of the top achievements in the music art form of the twentieth century. Previn's recording with the Royal Philharmonic has shades of greatness. The central and final sequences in particular are monumental.

Concerning the first part, 'Mars', i've hardly heard better than Boult--or Dutoit notably. Still, it doesn't mean things are "out of tune" with the Previn/RPO ; to the contrary, Previn's contains its share of excitement and is, obviously, of significant value. And if 'Uranus' and 'Neptune' do not seem to capture the sense of a cold, inhuman, remote mystery as much as in Mackerras/RLPO, for instance, then Previn rather insists on other aspects of the journey. Not to mention the clarity and tremendous power of orchestral playing that make this cd a reasonable "best choice". As is usual with most Telarcs, recorded sound is excellent. I intentionally exclude the old "glories of the past" recordings, such as the inimitable composer's own or Boult's boisterous and robust BBC performance of 1945, because it would rather be unfair to put those side-by-side with today's great sounding stereo versions.

'The Planets' were first performed in 1918. At that time, the suite didn't include Pluto. This was before the planet went discovered in 1930 but, ironically, the suite was accurate in portraying eight planets instead of nine : There have been much debate and controversy on the status of Pluto in the last few decades which ultimately led the IAU's definition to be modified and now classifies it as a "dwarf planet". It's also interesting to note that Holst's composition is akin to the frozen, often distant and hostile atmosphere of Vaughan Williams's Seventh Symphony ('Antartica'), even if the themes are obviously different. One is a brilliant attempt to portray (and pay tribute to) the expedition of Scott on the continent of ice ; the other is a powerful (and quite imaginative) attempt to situate the human being in the universe which surrounds him. Both are great works by two geniuses, two congenial minds who belonged to the same generation. 'The Planets' remain Holst's best-known opus, for better and for worse, and endure as one of the most popular pieces of music in the concert hall.

There exist many excellent recordings of this unequivocal masterpiece (some might want to refer to Karajan and also to Levine, both excellent) ; the Previn/LSO (on EMI) and Boult/LPO (also on EMI) are equally very good, reliable accounts. The latter has been coupled on cd with Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' and is one of the best sounding records featuring Boult. Still, this stellar RPO performance--brightly directed by maestro Andre Previn--will stay on my list as one of the most memorable moments in the course of 'The Planets'. *****

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Planets fans, October 8, 2000

By 

Mark Dirksen (Beverly Mass. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holst: The Planets (Audio CD)

If you enjoy Holst's vivid masterpiece, you owe it to yourself to hear Peter Sykes play the entirety of the score on the profound Girard chapel organ. Not only is this historically important instrument entirely capable of conveying the wide color and variety of Holst's music, Sykes is capable of playing it!

So much of this music fits the noble swagger an organ can provide - Jupiter's big tune (starting out on a single, eloquent open diapason) frankly beats the orchestral version. And you haven't really lived until you've heard 32-foot Skinner pedal reeds roar out Mars battle cry. If you enjoy the Planets for their power, you'll find the climaxes here overwhelming.

The sound quality is superb, capturing both the necessary grandeur and reverberation but also clear enough to present the softer felicities of timbre: check out the excerpt from Mercury above.

Finally, though, it is the performance that matters, and here Peter Sykes shows his mastery of Holst's sometimes quirky writing. The necessary virtuosity to pull this score together at the keyboard is always at the ready, but never placed in the forefront. Instead there is an intense, clear, and playful musical intelligence which always knows what is of first importance in this complicated music, as well as a sophisticated registrational sense which finds dozens (hundreds?) of appropriate combinations to illuminate it. Kudos, also, to assistant Vickie Wagner who surely knows the score as well as he by now, and whose contribution must have been immense.

Those of us lucky enough to live in the Boston area have long known just how good Peter Sykes is - in fact, he is perhaps better known as one of our most distinguished harpsichordists, playing and recording regularly with Boston Baroque among many other gigs. But manfestly he "plays it all" in every sense. Do yourself a favor and check this unique recording out - you will NOT be disappointed.