Best Recording of Holst's "The Planets"?
Rob Burns
Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, someone decided to liberate my
Discman and my CD case from the prison of my car. Inside the CD case
was music that most likely ended up in the dumpster. One CD dear to my
heart was taken, my Montreal SO/Dutoit recording of Holst's "The
Planets", which I'd owned for 11 years.
So, now that there are SO many recordings of this out there, I figure
I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
with Dutoit?
And I do already have the Tomita interpretation. ; )
Thanks,
Rob Who Is A Real Classical Music Fan Despite Loving "The Planets"
Aki Anton
the Penguin Classics series).
I also have Gardiner and Steinberg, both on DG. The latter I would
recommend as a speedy sumptuous supplementary rather than as a first
choice, but it does have the advantage of fitting on one side of a 90m
cassette.
--
Rob Burns <rjbu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f98f55be.02082...@posting.google.com...
JRsnfld
the Penguin Classics series). >>
I agree that the Dutoit is still an excellent choice--perhaps the best overall
for sound and playing and interpretation. The Levine recording is very
impressive but a bit overbearing at times--not better than Dutoit but a viable
alternative. The newly remastered Steinberg still has the best Mars, but the
rest of the performance does not top Dutoit.
--Jeff
ptr
>
> So, now that there are SO many recordings of this out there, I figure
> I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
> with Dutoit?
/ptr
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FelixWeingartner
this clearly superior to Dutoit." And you know you like this recording. You
don't even have to pay full price for it anymore, do you?
Sacqueboutier
rjbu...@hotmail.com wrote on 8/23/02 11:02 AM:
> Hi, don't come hear much, but I was hoping you could help...
>
> Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, someone decided to liberate my
> Discman and my CD case from the prison of my car. Inside the CD case
> was music that most likely ended up in the dumpster. One CD dear to my
> heart was taken, my Montreal SO/Dutoit recording of Holst's "The
> Planets", which I'd owned for 11 years.
>
> So, now that there are SO many recordings of this out there, I figure
> I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
> with Dutoit?
>
> And I do already have the Tomita interpretation. ; )
>
No such thing as a "best", but among my favourites are:
Dutoit/MSO on Decca
Steinberg/BSO on DGG
Boult/LPO on EMI
--
Don Patterson
DCP Music Printing
Professional Music Copy
and Arrangements
don...@olg.com
"Sometimes I wonder. We are told that the little things
in life are what make life worth living. Then we are
told, "Don't sweat the small stuff". Does this mean that
if the little things in life don't happen, and we don't
'sweat it', life is not worth living?"
Heck51
Levine/CSO - stunning
Mehta/LAPO, another good one.
I also liked the Boult/New Philharmonia from the 60s -
B. Smith
believe Decca has finally issued it on their Legends series. At the
time I bought mine the company called "Classic Records" did one of those
super-hyperbit-all analog transfers on a gold disc. The quality is
quite incredible. I wish I had bought more of those discs when they
were around.
Brian
W. J. McCutcheon
It might be hard to find, but I highly recommend Goodman and the New
Queen's Hall Orch. on Carlton. The disc also includes St. Paul's Suite.
Judd with the Royal PO on Denon will probably be easier to find. I think
Gardiner and the Philharmonia Orch. are pretty good, too.
-- Bill McCutcheon
DSCH daydreamer
>> I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
>> with Dutoit?
1. Bernstein on Sony Essential Classics (w/Walton: Facade)
2. Stokowski on EMI
3. Simon on Laserlight
Fred
Thomas Muething
>Boult's late seventees on EMI is the best one period..
>
Agreed.
Alternatives: Handley/RPO/Tring (great, cheap!), Groves/RPO/Castle,
Gardiner/PhilO/DG
Thomas
Thomas Muething
>1. Bernstein on Sony Essential Classics (w/Walton: Facade)
>
No.
Thomas
horizon
"DSCH daydreamer" <dschday...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020824012105...@mb-da.aol.com...
> > So, now that there are SO many recordings of this out there, I figure
> >> I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
> >> with Dutoit?
>
> 1. Bernstein on Sony Essential Classics (w/Walton: Facade)
It's been a while, but I believe that the liner notes for the original LP
revealed the fact that Lenny had never conducted the piece before this
recording.
Matt C
Stephen North
If you have a DVD Video player why not try the new Naxos DVD A/V of
the Planets with the RSNO conducted by David Lloyd Jones. I promise
the sound is very good !
Alternatively its also on budget CD and is the best I've heard for
about five years. Before that Handley on the RPO's own record label
was tops and prior to that Karajan and BPO.
So many recordings including your beloved Dutoit left me cold. Too
often it seems to be a Suite conducted purely as an orchestral
showpiece or worst still and example of English eccentricity. All the
above - and Elder on Hyperion - seem to find other layers of musical
meaning.
s
andrew lambert
Arthur La Porta
For raw brutality in Mars guess Solti/LPO is tops. Karajan/VPO is also
a hoot (a little rough in spots). Despite the fact that experts have
contempt for it, Maazel/Paris is my favorite overall
Joshua Kaufman
>
> > So, now that there are SO many recordings of this out there, I figure
> >> I've got quite a few to choose from in replacing it. Or do I stick
> >> with Dutoit?
>
> 1. Bernstein on Sony Essential Classics (w/Walton: Facade)
I really don't like how he does Jupiter on this one...
> 3. Simon on Laserlight
I reecently got the Simon. I like it better than the Bernstein, but it
seems to lack "oomph" as it were...
-Joshua
--
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Brendan R. Wehrung
I was wondering when somebody would get around to recommending Stokowski.
He'd definitely in the "otherworldly" category, which is not bad thing
with this music.
Brendan
Owen Joseph Hartnett
rjbu...@hotmail.com (Rob Burns) wrote:
Hi, my favorites, in no particular order are:
Boult's 4th and 5th recordings, both on EMI
Steinberg/BSO
Mackerras/royal philharmonic (?)
The Mackerras has excellent sound with a ferocious Mars and a great
Jupiter, but Steinberg's interpretation is very exciting as well. The
Boults are classic. The 4th recording has more of a standard
interpretation while the 5th has slower tempi throughout. A very unique
performance. I didn't like Dutoit, mainly because of the weak Mars, but
others seem to like it.
-owen
Matthew B. Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:ak9l8b$53p$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca:
> I was wondering when somebody would get around to recommending
> Stokowski. He'd definitely in the "otherworldly" category, which is not
> bad thing with this music.
It's interesting to compare his Los Angeles recording with the live one
Cala has issued with the NBC Symphony. I'm kind of a sucker for hearing
Toscanini's orchestra playing stuff the Old Man wouldn't touch -- for
example, Cantelli in Barber's "School for Scandal" Overture, Prokofiev
"Romeo and Juliet" excerpts, Menotti's "Sebastian" Suite, and Hindemith's
"Mathis Der Maler" Symphony; Stokowski in the aforementioned "Planets"
and the Vaughan Williams 4th; Frank Black in the Khachaturian Piano
Concerto for William Kapell; Walter in the Mahler 1st and Bruckner 4th
(okay, Toscanini had done the Bruckner with the Philharmonic-Symphony);
and most of all, Mitropoulos conducting the Berg Violin Concerto with
Josef Szigeti. Wow, what an orchestra!
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
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Jon A Conrad
wrong piccolo entrance mid-Jupiter, several by misreading the tempo
relationship for the first 3/4 in Jupiter (it's supposed to work out
significantly slower than when the same tune returns later, one-in-a-bar).
The one I like best best at the moment is Gardiner (fine balancing of the
textural layers, colorful playing).
One that I liked a lot that isn't spoken of much is Ozawa/Boston on
Philips. This was one of those "last gasp of analog" LPs as the digital
era was beginning, and I don't think it ever made it to CD. In fact I
never read much about it, and I'm normally not a huge Ozawa fan, but in
this case to my ears he got nearly everything right.
Jon Alan Conrad
Department of Music
University of Delaware
con...@udel.edu
JRsnfld
Philips. This was one of those "last gasp of analog" LPs as the digital
era was beginning, and I don't think it ever made it to CD >>
I remember seeing this on
JRsnfld
Philips. This was one of those "last gasp of analog" LPs as the digital
I remember seeing this on a mid-price Philips reissue, on CD. In any case, this
was a version I liked very much in its sumptuous sound on LP.
--Jeff
Rodger Whitlock
R. Wehrung) wrote:
> DSCH daydreamer (dschday...@aol.com) writes:
> > 2. Stokowski on EMI
> I was wondering when somebody would get around to recommending Stokowski.
> He'd definitely in the "otherworldly" category, which is not bad thing
> with this music.
Compulsive types ready to buy Stokie taking on Holst should be
aware that there have been two distinct remasterings issued as
part of the EMI FDS series of Capitol reissues.
The first one would seem to be a straight remastering from the
session tapes.
The second one, issued quite recently, includes in the notes a
letter from LS asking for certain sonic effects to be brought
about electronically. The implication is that the earlier
remastering did not include this engineering touch-up but the
later one does.
First remastering: catalogue #65423
Second remastering: catalogue #67469
I haven't sat down and actually compared the two.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Brendan R. Wehrung
> ck...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Brendan R. Wehrung) appears to have caused the
> following letters to be typed in news:ak9l8b$53p$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca:
>
>> I was wondering when somebody would get around to recommending
>> Stokowski. He'd definitely in the "otherworldly" category, which is not
>> bad thing with this music.
>
> It's interesting to compare his Los Angeles recording with the live one
> Cala has issued with the NBC Symphony. I'm kind of a sucker for hearing
> Toscanini's orchestra playing stuff the Old Man wouldn't touch
How much was it "his" orhcestra and how often did it "belong" to a guest?
I thought Toscanini had a limited schedule, with a full roster of other
maestros, especially in later years. No question it was good.
Brendan
Rob Burns
> Steinberg/BSO DGG Originals.
Hi there, what in particular do you like about the Steinberg edition?
Anybody who particularly likes this one, feel free to respond.
I must add, thanks everyone for chiming in. I'm an amateur, not a
music professional, so I appreciate the detailed comments especially.
Rob
Rob Burns
Thanks for your comments, Stephen. I'll see if I can find it or if my
library has it. If you don't mind, what do you like about the Elder
recording?
JRsnfld
music professional, so I appreciate the detailed comments especially. >>
There is one thing that is absolutely essential to the Steinberg version, and
maybe only one thing: In the first planet, Mars, Steinberg's orchestra hammers
out the first note of each measure of the opening march section with tremendous
ferocity. The result is bracing, menacing, but it is also fleet and agile. You
have to hear it to believe it. The rest of the recording has great virtues,
like the playing of the BSO's winds and strings--the brass might be a little to
bright for some people--but overall, it's the Mars that makes this for me one
of the standout versions of the Planets.
--Jeff
kenneth kwan
24bit/96kHz remastering. this PLANETS is one of them.
btw, this series includes monteux brahms 2 with LSO, van kempen
beethoven 7+8 w/BPO, van beinum brahms 1,4 ACO...
Heck51
"btw, this series includes monteux brahms 2 with LSO,"
Great!! I've been looking for that on CD - great performance, probably
my overall favorite.
BJMET1
I've heard are:
Mehta/LAPO (Superb sound and performance)
Von Karajan/Berlin ("Venus" in particular is quite beautifully done)
Lehobe
in the strings in "Mars...," the beauty of "Venus...," the outstanding
"Jupiter..." movement with the "...Hail to Thee" section so well balanced and
unforced, the organ swell in "Uranus..,." the slight trombone vibrato in
"Saturn..."and the overall resonance of Symphony Hall. Holst's recording with
the London Symphony is my second choice. Curiously, there is no col legno in
"Mars..." I wonder if that was a decision made because it was thought the
effect wouldn't come out in the early electrical recording system. Les
gggg...@gmail.com
https://petersplanets.wordpress.com/