Holst: The Planets; Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Benjamin Britten (Composer), Gustav Holst (Composer), Paavo Järvi (Conductor), Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Paavo Järvi
• Composer: Benjamin Britten, Gustav Holst
• Audio CD (October 26, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B002MHTGM2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,995 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"The Planets and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra are probably two of the best known orchestral works to come out of England in the twentieth century," said Mr. Järvi. "I have always been thrilled by the brilliant orchestra in both works and the powerful sound-images each uses to vividly bring to light the mysteries of outer space and the intricacies of the orchestra."

For The Planets, Holst composed musical equivalents for each of the solar system's known planets in 1914 other than Earth. CSO performances of The Planets in November led a reviewer from the Cincinnati Enquirer to write, "Drop everything and go... One can hardly describe the fierce power of the brass, two sets of timpani pounding relentlessly and bows cracking across their strings as Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra reached heavenward... The floors of Music Hall vibrated in this high-voltage performance of The Planets...."

"It is such a famous piece, but this is the first time I've conducted it with the Cincinnati Symphony," said Mr. Järvi. "This music has real staying power... Holst paints a 'sound picture' of the planets - it's both intriguing and charming." This latest release also features the re-release of The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Britten. According to ClassicsToday.com, Mr. Järvi and the CSO present "the finest Young Person's Guide since Britten's own. It has similar energy and freshness, allied to similar continuity and flow."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars... Outstanding swan song for the CSO on Telearc, October 28, 2009

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Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holst: The Planets; Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Audio CD)

Since Paavo Jarvi became the Cincinnati Symphony's Music Director in September, 2001, the Telearc label has issued 2 albums a year of the CSO directed by Maestro Jarvi, pretty much like clockwork, one in the Fall, and one in the Spring. This is the 16th in the series (more on that later).

This CD (70 min.) brings an all-British program, starting with Gustav Holst's momentous "The Planets" symphony. Keeping in mind that this symphony was intended to convey in music the influence of the planets on the human emotions and psyche, it makes for quite the listening experience, from the opening epic, almost bombastic, movement "Mars, The Bringer of War" to the gentle "Venus, the Bringer of Peace", to the scherzo "Mercury, the Winged Messenger", to the best movement on here (for me anyways), the 10 min. "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity", and on. Throughout, Maestro Jarvi brings out the best in his orchestra, with superb playing all around. I would've been perfectly pleased with just this symphony, but this album doesn't end there. Indeed, the added piece to this CD is Benjamin Brittan's immensely popular "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", which is a nice and I guess a logical addition (please note this is the version without narration). In all, a great collection of music, and highly recommended!

As usual, courtesy the folks at Telearc, the recording/audio quality of this CD is nothing short of spectacular. Maestro Jarvi and the CSO are currently on a high-profile tour of Japan as we speak (including a nationally televised performance on the NHK TV channel) and this recording simply confirms the great work that Maestro Jarvi continues to do with the CSO. Sadly, the Telearc label has recently announced to call it a day as far as making new CDs and as a result this will be the last release of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on Telearc (it remains to be seen whether the CSO can land a new label for future releases).

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Recording, November 14, 2010

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Jeff Brown (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holst: The Planets; Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Audio CD)

Telarc, as always, has engineered a great disc here. It is sad to note that it is the last from their collaboration with Cincinnati as they have produced some great discs over the years. The "Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra" was released several years ago with the "Enigma Variations." It is a great recording on a great disc. You might want to pursue that release if you prefer an SACD. While there are elements of brilliance in this version of "The Planets" it is not as good as some of its competitors. "Mars" never really sounds frightening, but "Jupiter" sounds wonderful with perhaps the most satisfying climax that I have come across. The low is "Saturn" where the balance and dynamics from the brass must be exact and they are not here. They make up for it though with "Neptune" which sounds spectacular with incredible detail and balance. I still prefer Dutoit with Montreal for this piece.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars most satisfying "Planets" I've yet to encounter, November 27, 2009

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B. Guerrero "Mahler nutcase" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holst: The Planets; Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Audio CD)

Being a huge fan of orchestration, it would only be natural (no pun intended) that I take a fancy to Holst's "The Planets". I'm not going to give a detailed account here, as someone else has already done a very good job of doing just that. I'll only add that this is THE most satisfying rendition of "The Planets" I've yet to come across. As one of the other reviewers hinted at, the big pay-off comes in Neptune - music that was composed way ahead of its time. I've never heard all the myriad, small details of orchestration register so clearly. But there's also some real "feel" for work going on here. It's not just a glitzy run-through. Also, the balances between the wordless women's chorus and orchestra are perfectly gauged.

Sorry to sound like a parrot, but it's also the best overall recording I've yet to hear of the Britten "YPGO" as well. The sound quality is simply stunning, turning this into an orchestral tour de force. That said, I do wish that they would include the narration more often.