Holst: The Planets/John Williams: Star Wars/Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Gustav Holst (Composer), John [Film Composer] Williams (Composer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Zubin Mehta (Conductor), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Zubin Mehta
• Composer: Gustav Holst, John [Film Composer] Williams, Richard [1] Strauss
• Audio CD (January 13, 1998)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0000042G5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,143 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into Deep Space With Mehta And The L.A. Philharmonic, March 9, 2002

By 

Erik North (San Gabriel, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Holst: The Planets/John Williams: Star Wars/Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Audio CD)

One of the best double-CD sets in classical music is this superlative reissue of top-notch performances of space-related music by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor who put it into world-class status, Zubin Mehta.

On Disc One, we get the orchestra's epic 1971 recording of Gustav Holst's celebrated suite "The Planets." In terms of the recording and performance, this has to rank as one of the greatest recordings this piece has ever had, right alongside Ormandy's equally vibrant 1975 RCA recording. The women's voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in "Neptune" are appropriately haunting and interstellar. This is followed by the orchestra and the chorale in a 13-minute arrangement of themes from the 1977 Steven Spielberg sci-fi classic CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND by John Williams, and it is something to behold.

Disc 2 opens up with the celebrated "Dawn" sequence that opens up Richard Strauss' celebrated tone poem "Also Sprach Zarathustra"--the music that became well known worldwide in 1968 thanks to director Stanley Kubrick's cagey use of it in his classic sci-fi epic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Mehta and the orchestra recorded Strauss' 34 minute tone poem shortly after "2001" was released, and they came up with a version that arguably surpasses the 1954 Reiner/Chicago version that so often grabs the glory. The disc concludes with more John Williams, this time a symphonic suite of themes from STAR WARS, dating like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS from 1977. This ultra-familiar music is excellently performed and recorded.

Mehta and the L.A. Philharmonic made a great deal of fine recordings, and the four works featured on this double-disc set are proof of that. This is a two-fer that is not to be missed.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful spatial combination, December 24, 1999

By 

"darsat" (Texas, America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holst: The Planets/John Williams: Star Wars/Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Audio CD)

I'm glad someone else realizes Mehta conducts Williams better than Williams. The phrasing and balances are much better. The Planets is excellent, although some of the newest DG 4-D wonders are good sonically. But Mehta simply lets the music play itself without too much fussing. Most impressive, however, is the Zarathustra. It is one of the best because it uses a REAL pipe organ, not one of those electronic sheep bleeting things that masks out both the orchestra and the composer's spine-tingling harmonics that make this piece so awesome. Anyway, it is a superb collection of space-related works that also stands the test of classic concert scrutiny. This is simply the best overall collection of this music available.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For fans of Classical Music and Film Scores, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Holst: The Planets/John Williams: Star Wars/Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Audio CD)

Being a "fan" of classical music as well as a collector of good sci fi film scores, I immediately picked up this double CD even if I was short on cash. Although I have become used to my own favorite interpretations of these selections( like Andre Previn for the Zarathustra, Gardiner for The Planets, and John Williams or Charles Gerhardt for Star Wars)this album made me hear other parts of these works that I had not liked, or listened well before. This should be a collectors piece. Worth the price for any of the pieces.