Well, this is the cover of the version I have with some major differences; Mine has HOLST in small caps, THE PLANETS in large caps below, and Steinberg . Boston Symphony Orchestra in bold upper & lower case. And NO Also Spracht Zarathustra. The catalogue number on mine is 2530 102 with ST in a circle that overlaps another circle with 33 in it. The artwork isn't skewed as shown above, it fills the LP sleeve, and signed in the lower left hand corner of the artwork Wandrey's. Also worth noting, on the back sleeve; New England Conservatory Chorus (in No 7) Cond.: Lorna Cooke deVaron Boston Symphony Orchestra William Steinberg, conductor Recording date is 1971
Depending on the country you bought it in, your Steinberg Planets LP is this one: Holst* - Steinberg* • Boston Symphony Orchestra - The Planets
Dutoit is very good. But i choose emi Boult for the magnific neptun. Its the only version were i like that movement. Amazingly misterious. Keep away from one of the karajans (cant specify wich one right now). Its horrible. But karajan has a good version to. There both on Deutsche grammophon.
I ve eard also a version conducted by holst himself on emi conductors in person, but is nothing special.
I was intrigued by the OP's description of Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 1998 so I picked it up. Yeah, Mars is very punctuated! I like the whole thing but all I have is Karajan to compare it to.
I have quite a small selection in my library of classical music and my knowledge of it isn't any larger but I really do enjoy this one: Holst* / Grainger*, John Eliot Gardiner, Philharmonia Orchestra – The Planets / The Warriors Label: Deutsche Grammophon – 471 634-2 Format: SACD, Album, Hybrid, Multichannel Country: Europe Released: Genre: Classical Style: Classical
Greetings, my favourite version is the recording from 1926 conducted by Holst, despite the poor audio quality, I always liked the performance of the composer.
A bunch of these are on Spotify now, I noticed. I found my old Maazel Planets there, in its later edition where it was released with Bolero tacked onto the end. I loved the cover art for the original. The "drunken" rendition of "Mars" was good to hear after 30 years. "Uranus" is still pretty amazing on this one - the dynamic range at the song's peak is truly astounding. Analog could never have managed that, at least not circa 1980. I still remember trying to record this onto metal tape on my old Sony cassette deck and not being able to do it without carefully riding the levels. Otherwise, it was nasty overload city.
Howdy, Bruno. Considering you like the 1926 Holst recording, you might be interested in the Roy Goodman recording from 1996. Here's what James Reid has to say about the Goodman: "The 1996 recording conducted by Roy Goodman is a special case. Goodman set out to emulate the composer’s 1926 recording, including the tempos, and his orchestra uses museum instruments or replicas of the type of instruments used around the time of Holst’s recording. We are unlikely to ever get much closer to Holst’s own intentions and interpretation than Goodman’s performance. For anyone interested in this music, Goodman’s is a must-hear recording." (From "An Astronomer's Guide To Holst's The Planets.") Here's my take on the Goodman: 6. Roy Goodman, New Queens Hall Orchestra, 1996
I give full marks to Steinberg in the Blu-Ray reissue. Paavo Jarvi on Telarc (recorded in DSD) and Handley, which as been issued on at least 7 or 8 labels, are both top contenders in my book. The best, however, is the just issued SACD by Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic on the BIS label. It also includes Elgar's Enigma Variations. I've owned many fine recordings of both these pieces over the decades, but I may never buy another. Litton & Bergen are stunning in both, and the sound is jaw dropping.
I went to school with Andrew Davis so I'll opt for him and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Plus the fact that the CD also includes Egdon Heath, my favourite Holst piece.
Thought I would revive this thread... Here’s a review I recently wrote on Dutoit’s Planets on Decca via Amazon: Title: This Solar System Has Become Diluted Let me begin by saying that I think the fidelity of this recording is quite good and much better than the reviewer who criticized the audio mix. There’s nothing wrong with the mix of this recording. What I find objectionable about Dutoit’s “Planets” is the interpretation itself. Everything sounds ‘correct’ to my ears and in this regard, it certainly could never be faulted as Dutoit was one of those perfectionist conductors who never let something that sounded bad come out of an orchestra. But here lies my main problem with this performance, there aren’t any moments where Dutoit loses control and lets his emotions take over to fuel the performance. He sees the score, he gets the orchestra to perform it and then they go home. That’s it! There’s nothing individual about this performance and this is why I can only allot it two stars. “The Planets” is one of the most well-known orchestral works in the classical repertoire. It’s been recorded countless times and continues to be a crowd-pleaser. I need more of Dutoit’s personal stamp in this music because, otherwise, I can listen to other performances who also just play the notes. I fail to understand why this recorded is lauded by critics and fans alike. It’s not a ‘terrible’ recording, but it is faceless and one I never return to. My own favorite recordings (in no particular order): Bernstein/NYPO, Boult/LPO, Mehta/LAPO, Karajan/Wiener and Groves/RPO. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will reiterate a few points. I generally like Dutoit’s conducting and think he excels in French music, but I felt he lost his way in this work. In fact, I think he’s lost in any of the English music I’ve heard him conduct. His Mars just plods along and it felt like someone put a wet blanket over the whole musical proceedings. It’s limp, devoid of any menace and sounds like he’s not even aware of what this music is supposed to invoke or call to mind. Another big letdown was Saturn, which is my favorite movement. Where’s the gravitas? Where’s the crushing weight of inevitability as we watch the clock? I have never understood how this recording gets such superlative ratings, but it doesn’t from me. I gave it two stars and that was from the performance of the Montreal SO and the sound engineering from Decca. Dutoit gets zero stars. Truly one of the worst Planets I’ve heard.
I've owned 3 copies of this over the years. The first was the "drunken" Maazel version from the early '80s, one of the first digital recordings. It's kind of a trainwreck but also sorta interesting. They really, really, really let themselves use the full dynamic range digital recording affords on this one, in particular on "Uranus" which has a spectacular peak that's physically overwhelming at volume. This was recorded using 3M's early digital recording system, which actually exceeded the fidelity of the Compact Disc somewhat, but was finnicky to operate. It also had a spare-no-expenses analog stage and was I think one of the best-sounding decks ever made. The second was the Andre Previn on Telarc from '86, which sounds fantastic as you'd expect from Telarc. It's not quite as digital crisp as the earlier Maazel recording, but it's also a bit more muddled and hazy and muffled somehow. I'm not sure if this was the technology involved - I think Telarc might have been using Soundstream decks or some other unique-to-Telarc technology still in '86. It feels a bit less like a live orchestra and a bit more like a recording, although it is a more pleasant experience than the earlier Maazel version from France. The performance is certainly superior if not quite as surprising in spots. The "Jupiter" on this one is really nice - it just soars. The latest one I got was the Dutoit. I can see why it's popular - I think it's flawless and the fidelity is near-perfect. Sounds like an orchestra and there's just enough hall for it to be pleasant without it swallowing the orchestra. Nothing unexpected. Seems very rehearsed. I could see why someone might not enjoy it as a result, though.
As I told another member on a different thread, I’m not after a ‘flawless’ performance. I’m more concerned with individuality. Too many listeners are more concerned with what I think is the superficial side of listening, which would be chasing the idea of something that is ‘note perfect’. I’m sorry but I like a more personal take on the music rather than how many notes were ‘wrongly’ played.
The occasional bum note or flat instrument(s) doesn't bug me, but I find they can quickly overwhelm a performance. YYMV.
When you have so many phenomenal orchestras who have performed The Planets through the years, it’s difficult to find one that has a lot of wrong notes, because the degree of professionalism is off-the-charts. I’m less concerned when the orchestra is one of the big ones like the Berliners, Wiener Philharmoniker, London SO, London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, etc. Anyway, my point is you can have one of the greatest orchestras in the world at your disposal but if you don’t have anything to say in the music, then you might as step off the podium.
