Description

 






About this set:





Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra


Conductor: James Levine


Number of discs: 1






Reviews:





"Gustav Holst's 'The Planets' (Op. 32) is a seven-movement symphonic poem which describes the 'personalities' of most of our celestial neighbors in the solar system. Had Pluto been discovered when Holst was composing this wonderful piece in the early 20th Century, there might have been an eighth movement (perhaps called 'The Guardian of the Dead"), but the ninth planet was not discovered until 1930, 12 years after its first rehearsal. No matter. One missing planet doesn't take away from the breathtaking wonder of this very powerful composition.





Holst is not literally describing each planet's physical features, for at the turn of the 20th Century there were no Voyager or Viking probes to send back images from which the composer could derive some inspiration, although I would like to think that some NASA engineer was listening to this music while driving to and from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena as one of our mechanical explorers was making its lonely sojourn across the vast and cold expanses of space. No, Holst was going for the planets as astral metaphors, giving each movement a descriptive title ('Mars, the Bringer of War', for instance) and a particular musical 'mood' that is totally unconnected to the others.





James Levine (best known as the Metropolitan Opera's music director) leads the magnificent Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus into a mystical musical tour of the heavens, starting with the belligerent allegro 'Mars, the Bringer of War'. This movement starts with very tense and brooding music that becomes very martial, almost as if Holst had composed it for the score of a great silent epic depicting the then-ongoing Great War. It is a very 'modern' piece, with very militaristic tempos that convey discord and strife. It even sounds like a precursor to John Williams' 'The Imperial Attack' cue from his score to Star Wars: A New Hope. (If you play the last minute or so of the allegro, then listen to any recording of 'The Imperial Attack', you will notice the similarity.)





In sharp contrast to the first movement, 'Venus, the Bringer of Peace' is a gentle and reflective piece, with lush strings and restrained tones suggesting astral tranquility.





My favorite movement is 'Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity', with its lively introduction and bright motifs that lead into a 'hope and glory' theme which conveys grandeur and pomp, as if composed for a coronation or royal wedding. Holst uses various tempos and variations on themes, building on each musical construct until reaching a triumphal orchestral climax. (Listeners of the old WTMI 93.1 FM classical station in South Florida will recognize the opening bars of 'Jupiter' as the musical intro to the news updates in the morning and afternoon.)





Levine and the Chicago Symphony and Chorus perform this multifaceted work brilliantly in this 1990 Deutsche Gramophon recording, and Holst's magnificent mix of orchestral moods takes the listener on an aural equivalent of a Grand Tour of the heavens."


Customer review on Amazon





"Levine's recording of this Holst masterpiece should be a staple in every music collection. Not only does it have the gorgeous sound of some of the world's finest string players, but it also has something that every orchestra at that time envied - the warm, rich, powerfull sound of the Chicago brass section. This combination, along with Levine's exceptional understanding of the piece, makes the recording one of the most energetic, exciting, and engaging ones available today."


Customer review on Amazon





"No orchestra's performance of Holst's Planets possesses the rich colors, the deep sonorities, the brilliant soloists, the heroic power and the sheer emotion of the Chicago Symphony's! The orchestra has proven their musical prowess time and time again and this is hardly and exeption. The strings flow beautifuly and act as a unified and mighty wave and also as a fertile bed of sound. The woodwinds are impeccable and voluptuous. the percussion is sensitive and precise. The mighty Chicago brass outstrips all the world's orchestras once more with this tour de force of majesty and might. The principal trumpet sails effortlessly above the entire ensemble, especially in Mercury and Jupiter, calling out to all mankind to harkon unto God. the horns display both incredible lyricism and a firey power. The trombone section is simply one of the best anywhere and ever. Charles Vernon awakens the dead with his volcanic sound most appearently in Uranus. This is one of the world's greatest orchestras and should be admired."


Customer review on Amazon






The MP3 files have been created using LAME with option -V2 (192 kBits/s VBR)


Cover included and tagged inside the files