BaL 27.09.14 - Holst: The Planets

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 a.m.
Building a Library on The Planets by Gustav Holst. David Owen Norris considers the available recorded versions of this ever-popular orchestral showpiece.

Available Versions:-


BBC National Orchestra of Wales, David Atherton (DVD)
Philharmonia Orchestra, William Boughton
BBC SO, Sir Adrian Boult
LPO, Sir Adrian Boult (3 versions)
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Lubeck PO, Roman Broghi-Sacher (download)
BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis
BBC SO, Sir Andrew Davis
BPO, Sir Colin Davis
LSO, Sir Colin Davis
Montreal SO, Charles Dutoit
Hallé Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner (download)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson
RPO, Sir Charles Groves
RPO, Vernon Handley
LPO, Bernard Herrman
LSO, Richard Hickox
LSO, Gustav Holst
Cincinnati SO, Paavo Jarvi
LPO Vladimir Jurowski
BPO, Herbert von Karajan
VPO, Herbert von Karajan
CSR SO Bratislava, Adrian Leaper (download)
Dallas SO, Andrew Littlon
Chicago SO/James Levine (download)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, David Lloyd-Jones
Atlanta SO, Yoel Lovi [BaL Choice August 2005]
French National Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner
Israel PO, Zubin Mehta
Los Angeles PO, Zubin Mehta
SWR SO, Sir Roger Norrington
CBSO, Sakari Oramo (download)
Philadelphoa Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy (DVD)
Boston SO, Seiji Ozawa
RPO, Andre Previn
BPO, Sir Simon Rattle
BBC SO, Gennadi Rozhdestvesnsky
Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (DVD/Blu-ray)
LSO, Sir Malcolm Sargent
National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Christopher Seaman
LSO, Geoffrey Simon (download)
LPO, Sir Georg Solti
Boston SO, William Steinberg
Los Angeles PO, Leopold Stokowski
Philharmonia Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov (download)




Composer's 2 piano version:

Anthony Goldstone, Caroline Clemmow
David Nettle, Richard Markham
Richard Rodney Bennett, Susan Bradshaw
Robert Chamberlain, Len Voister


Piano Duet (arranged from composer's 2-piano version):-
a
Fiona York, John York



Organ arrangement:-

(arr. Sykes) Hansjörg Albrecht


Organ & Brass Quintet arrangement:-

(arr. Dastous) Melanie Barney, Buzz Ensemble (download)


Wind Ensemble arrangement:-

(arr..Patterson) University of Houston Wind Ensemble, Eddie Green (download)

Electronic arrangement:-

(arr. Tomita) Isao Tomita

[pastoralguy]

Wow! That's a lot of Planets. Where to begin...?

May I, respectfully, suggest you add the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Jose Serebrier on ASV please? Well played and interesting couplings with an excellent '1812' and 'Bolero'.

[Tony Halstead]

Wow! That's a lot of Planets. Where to begin...?

May I, respectfully, suggest you add the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Jose Serebrier on ASV please? Well played and interesting couplings with an excellent '1812' and 'Bolero'.

I am hoping and praying that D.O.N. doesn't recommend the RSNO/ Lloyd-Jones version which, although exceedingly well played ( and conducted) unfortunately has a gratuitous extra piece tacked on the end so as to somehow complete the Solar System ( even though the extra piece's subject has now been downgraded from its former planetary status. )

[Beef Oven!]

Like many forumites, I have a fair few recordings.

One of my favourites to this day, is the London Philharmonic & Hilary Davan Wetton, on Collins.

[Roehre]

Wow! That's a lot of Planets. Where to begin...?.....

But, with only a few exceptions, like Karajan (and he knew it from his Philharmonia years), by far the best part is in some way British/American (either the orchestra or the conductor).
Again, a British master piece not so well received outside the English speaking world.....

[Alison]

Like many forumites, I have a fair few recordings.

One of my favourites to this day, is the London Philharmonic & Hilary Davan Wetton, on Collins.

Yes, I agree. LPO play like Gods and perhaps the best Mars I've ever heard!

[Alison]

A rather good cover too ...

I liked the Collins Classics label, launched when I started collecting as a kid.

Fine engineering and regularly featuring my favourite orchestras- the London ones.

[Beef Oven!]

A rather good cover too ...

And yes, an awesome Mars!

[Alison]

So what would be a typically quirky DON choice?

[amateur51]

So what would be a typically quirky DON choice?

VPO/James Last?

[PJPJ]

LSO/Holst exists in two versions, one acoustic, the other electric, quite different in performance.

Is LSO/Previn nla?

LSO/Sargent is the mono Decca; there's also the EMI BBCSO/Sargent.

[PJPJ]

VPO/James Last?

Dolmetsch Ensemble?

[amateur51]

Dolmetsch Ensemble?

The recording angel?

[Petrushka]

My first Planets, purchased in 1973, was VPO/Karajan which is still a serious contender and by no means trumped by his 1981 BPO version. Boult is a must in this work and I quickly added his 1966 NPO account with his 1978 and final recording following soon after. However, my favourite Boult version is the 1973 Proms recording recently issued as a BBC Music Magazine CD. In a word, stunning.

My favourite other than BBCSO/Boult is LPO/Solti.

[visualnickmos]

.....My favourite other than BBCSO/Boult is LPO/Solti.

I can happily go with that.