Customer Reviews

Holst: The Planets

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this to replace a CD of a Bernstein interpretation from 1976 that somehow vanished. I like it quite a bit, but it's not my old Bernstein. Mars is a little slow and cluttered toward the end, and lacking the organ that really set the tone for me. Also, it was a little too legato in the louder portions. Jupiter also seemed to drag some. Saturn is really beutiful and haunting, though. Overall, it's grown on me. The Bernstein performance I had is out of print now and I can't find it anywhere, but I'm not disappointed by the replacement.

I too like this performance, but the recording appears to be flawed. There is a constant pulsating very low rumble throughout the recording, which is very annoying. I do have a subwoofer in my setup, which of course aggravates the problem.

I also have Telarc's DTS sampler, and when I went back and listened to the sample there I now noticed that it has the same problem.

If you have a higher grade system with full range frequency response, I wouldn't recommend this recording for these reasons.

I did my research to find the best, highest-quality recording of The Planets by Gustav Theodore Holst, and this is the recording to buy. I love the Atlanta stuff on Telarc.

I've heard many other different copies of "The Planets," and this copy is the best out of all of them. The sound is very clear. Yoel Levi's interpretaions are solid, and the Atlanta Symphony really shows off their talant in this recording. This is the recording to buy!

The first time I listened to this recording as a long time fan of The Planets, I was thrilled and startled. And why? I never imagined that this recording of this particular of music with this orchestra, would be this good.

-Mars, the Bringer of War, is paced by Levi better than perhaps any other recording that I have heard. It is a brisk pace, much like Leonard Bernstein's early 1970s account and not unlike Holsts 1926 London Symphony Orchestra version, conducted by the composer himself. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra brass section is more than up to the task. Telarcs engineering is second to none. Levi brings urgency to this Bringer of War all the way until the last bars of this opening movement.

-Venus the Bringer of Peace, is as tender as Mars is brutally mechanical and there is an intimacy made possible by Telarcs recording process which is pristine. Again, Atlanta and Levi are tasteful down to the last bars of music, nothing hurried and not a moment of music wasted.

-Mercury the Winged Messanger, again as Levi has shown demonstrated, continues in his ability to vary tempi to keep the music vibrant all while navigating Holst very difficult writing in this piece.

-Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity is the best recorded here of any I have ever heard. Levi takes all the right turns of tempo here, ecpecially about a minute into the movement when Levi finds and brings out Holst unusual writing and choice of tempo moving from slow to fast. The brass playing is exceptional. The central theme, the great English theme is emotionally rewarding, dignified, tasteful again, bringing about a great rise in emotion with rather restrained playing and avoids some of the pomp and heavy handedness that often come across in this theme. (Notably here there is a great balance between the chords in the brass, restrained timpani that do not overwhelm the strings.) The end is as brilliant as the beginning, Levi losing no intensity whatsoever.

-Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age, is chilling as one could expect. Holsts favorite movement. The woodwinds are as steady as a clock and suggest the cold passage of time. This is a very well thought out interpretation of Saturn in the solemn buildup to the center of this movement which peaks with the clear ringing of bells as if from some great grandfather clock, indicating that time itself might end. But the bells have rung and the sun rises bringing the movement to a peaceful end.

-Uranus the Magician, a dangerous and perhaps more frightening version of the Sorcerers Apprentice. Levis version has as much magic and darkness as you could ask for, and again, always, the Atlanta brass section is brilliant. And again Telarcs record engineering can shake the walls.

-Neptune, the Mystic, a musical painting of the infinite. Here, as in all the planets on this recording allows the listener to get inside the music. Turn this movement up in volume, the darkness and mysteryt is tangible, but yet again, even here, a sense of urgency, perhaps the urgency of the unanswered question of time and space as the wordless female chorus fades into the nothingness of silence.

This is a recording to own and if you only need to own one version of The Planets, this is definately the one to own. There are no other tag along pieces as The Planets needs none. No versions of Pluto. Holst did not write a Pluto. The recorded sound is exceptional, the performance is virtually flawless and the price is wonderful. Atlanta, Georgia and British space music right? Throw away the conventions about this piece and the hype about other well known recordings. Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra captured lighting in a bottle with this recording session and I suspect that this recording will become a standard for many many decades. Buy it!

Stunningly beautiful rendition of The Planets. Very wide dynamic range may require a volume nudge here or there; but this is merely a testament to the production/engineering and performance. Flat-out awesome!

Although it is a near impossibility to experience the explosion of Mars through your speakers the way you can in the concert hall, with this recording you come darn close. Levi's Mars has drive, menace and he evolves the lyrical elements with great aplomb. It will vibrate you! Venus is is a welcome respite: feminine, soft, and soothing. Mercury launches itself back into the fray like a caffeine injection. Jupiter, the crown jewel of The Planets, is an absolute joy. The opening rise seems to shoot out of a cannon and the beautiful central hymn envelops as it builds to full strength. Saturn is both eerie and again transporting with its 'fate' themes. Then, after Uranus develops into a bombastic march, Neptune and the ethereal musing chorus will soothe you to sleep. Each of the planetary tone poems is its own unique entity and Levi's direction shows off Holst's masterpiece to the fullest. With Telarc's sonics and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's sound, The Planets will leave you with an unforgettable experience of musical whiplash.

This is a wonderful recording of Holst. I especially like Mars, it's quick whithout being overdone. The slow pieces are lyric and beautiful. This orchestra is fantastic and this recording proves it.

This is certainly one of the best recordings of this piece available. Exciting, vibrant, colorful, soulful, and majestic are all perfect adjectives describing this recording. Telarc did a masterful job as did Levi and his orchestra. I did think the horns sounded a bit distant, but it did not detract from the experience. Buy this now! Don't hesitate!

This is the best recording of Holst's The Planets I have ever heard. The sound of this recording is absolutely clear and space is endless. The five stars is almost too little.