Holst: The Planets / Dutoit, Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Penguin Music Classics Series)

Gustav Holst (Composer), Charles Dutoit (Conductor), Montréal Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Ethan Canin (Artist)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Montréal Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Charles Dutoit
• Composer: Gustav Holst
• Audio CD (September 29, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000AFQQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #152,793 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In the CD's liner notes, novelist Ethan Canin's analysis of Holst's The Planets describes the composition to be the source material for most of the great cinema's scores. It's a fact he learned from his father--a violinist who left the San Francisco Symphony to pursue Hollywood studio work and kept referring back to The Planets as a source of inspiration. Holst's work--a composition for each planet in the solar system minus Earth and Pluto--was considered revolutionary in 1916 and it still sounds convincing today. Mars, the Bringer of War is a violent work that deserves a place in any sci-fi shoot out, while Mercury, the Winged Messenger is pure pastoral impressionism. Filled with moodswings and folk influences, Holst created a classic--a musical portrait of astrology eight decades before the term "new age" was infused into our vocabulary. This recording, featuring Charles Dutoit conducting the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, is a keeper. The orchestra's mastery of Holst is apparent throughout, especially on more powerful cuts, such as Mars and Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tops in a crowded field, September 26, 2000

By	"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

It may be impossible to select a "best" version of this popular modern work, but this would be the one I choose. The recording quality is absolutely first-rate, the tempo never lags, the orchestration is rich and vivid, and most importantly for me, the spiritual focus of the piece, the great central tune of Jupiter with its roots in English folk music, is gloriously played and then transitions seamlessly back into the reprise of the opening portion of Jupiter which is also superbly done, not too staccato as some versions including Karajan's are. Musically the piece may not be in the class of Beethoven or Mozart, but I can't imagine it SOUNDING better than in this recording by Dutoit.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright, Bold, Etheral... but not all at once, August 16, 2000

By	"rrr338" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

You really can't miss with this recording. Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony rise to the occasion and deliver a "Planets" that is bright when it has to be (as in "Jupiter"), daringly bold (even for "Mars"), and unearthly etheral ("Neptune"). In many other recordings of this piece, there is usually a weak link, or several. One of the planetary pieces just seems to fall short from the rest. Here you find superb quality all around. I thought I had a really good version with James Levine and the Chicago Symphony, but I like this one even better. The clarity of the recording is remarkable.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent All-Digital Recording, May 16, 2001

By	jose - See all my reviews

Perhaps one of the best recordings of orchestral music I have ever heard. The only better performance I've heard of The Planets was by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra-- live at Symphony Hall in Chicago. Perhaps what makes this recording so astounding is not only a stellar performance, but also the fact that it is all digital (DDD)-- hard to come by in the world of classical music. The beat of the timpanis in Mars sounds sharper than ever. A must-have for any collection.