Holst - The Planets [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]
I can't believe this is the very first entry for Holst in my Blog!, the Planets Suite were one of the very first things i seriously listened to in my Fathers LP vinyl collection, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were my favourites, i must have been about 13, and it made an impression on me, and served as an introduction of sorts to full blown Classical music, i can see why The Planets are so popular, it has all the ingredients for success, and is a great starting point for a beginner, and yet on the other hand, deep Classical enthusiasts can wallow in the beauties too, it's not kids stuff like Peter and the Wolf, its strengths are, 1 Length - Seven short bite-sized pieces, unlike a Symphony, it's a Suite, you can listen to one of two or the whole lot, in any order you like, the 'whole' really doesn't matter here, 2 Variety - Holst seems to look at the seven diametrically opposite corners of the Classical spectrum, like a box of chocolates, there's something for everyone, 3 Programme - These aren't just seven nameless orchestral statements, each planet has a character, and that's fully brought out in the music, there's a sort of visual story behind each, and 4 Complex / Simple - Each piece can be enjoyed by beginners who have no Classical music education and experience, or at the other extreme, there's complexities to thrill the most deep Classical professor.
Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 75, he made this recoding in 1986, a celebrated version of the Planets, and highly regarded, this is my 'touchstone' version of the Planets, the one where i really got to know this music, and i judge every other version by this mark, the booklet cover is pleasing enough, but not very original.
All of these pieces sounded just fantastic in their own right, and i suppose i especially enjoyed Mars and surprisingly Mercury the most, Mercury is actually my least favourite Planet here, but, i enjoyed it so much, i got things out of it that i hadn't heard before, it seems the 'runt of the litter', but it's a fantastic piece, and deserves more scrutiny,
Here's Charles Mackerras conducting Mercury at the Proms on YouTube.
