"The most popular selections from this suite are Mars, Jupiter, and to a lesser degree, Uranus. For those as yet unfamiliar with Holst, all of the selections will become very listenable and memorable. Here, Mars is ominous and menacing, and Jupiter is bold and bouncy, just as they should be.Previn finds the right balance with the orchestra, so the strings and brass do not overshadow each other. In the lesser-known movements, Previn exhibits an understanding for English composers, evident here as well as with his Vaughn Williams performances. And, what better orchestra than the LSO! However, what impresses most about this performance is the tempi of both Mars and Jupiter. The pace of Bernstein and Karajan is too fast: Ormandy is much too slow. Previn (and Dutoit and Solti) finds the pace that enables expression without being ponderous.Sonically, this may be the best recording of The Planets available. Telarc engineered this in its typical, flawless way. There is great interplay between instruments here, and Telarc captures them with great clarity. The buoyant movements with The Planets really benefit from the wide dynamics.All in all, this CD has everything in its favor. The Planets are indeed aligned. Five bright stars."
Stellar performance !
jean couture | Quebec city - Canada | 05/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gustav HOLST's famous orchestral suite 'The Planets' is, without an ounce of a doubt, one of the top achievements in the music art form of the twentieth century. Previn's recording with the Royal Philharmonic has shades of greatness. The central and final sequences in particular are monumental.
Concerning the first part, 'Mars', i've hardly heard better than Boult--or Dutoit notably. Still, it doesn't mean things are "out of tune" with the Previn/RPO ; to the contrary, Previn's contains its share of excitement and is, obviously, of significant value. And if 'Uranus' and 'Neptune' do not seem to capture the sense of a cold, inhuman, remote mystery as much as in Mackerras/RLPO, for instance, then Previn rather insists on other aspects of the journey. Not to mention the clarity and tremendous power of orchestral playing that make this cd a reasonable "best choice". As is usual with most Telarcs, recorded sound is excellent. I intentionally exclude the old "glories of the past" recordings, such as the inimitable composer's own or Boult's boisterous and robust BBC performance of 1945, because it would rather be unfair to put those side-by-side with today's great sounding stereo versions.
'The Planets' were first performed in 1918. At that time, the suite didn't include Pluto. This was before the planet went discovered in 1930 but, ironically, the suite was accurate in portraying eight planets instead of nine : There have been much debate and controversy on the status of Pluto in the last few decades which ultimately led the IAU's definition to be modified and now classifies it as a "dwarf planet". It's also interesting to note that Holst's composition is akin to the frozen, often distant and hostile atmosphere of Vaughan Williams's Seventh Symphony ('Antartica'), even if the themes are obviously different. One is a brilliant attempt to portray (and pay tribute to) the expedition of Scott on the continent of ice ; the other is a powerful (and quite imaginative) attempt to situate the human being in the universe which surrounds him. Both are great works by two geniuses, two congenial minds who belonged to the same generation. 'The Planets' remain Holst's best-known opus, for better and for worse, and endure as one of the most popular pieces of music in the concert hall.
There exist many excellent recordings of this unequivocal masterpiece (some might want to refer to Karajan and also to Levine, both excellent) ; the Previn/LSO (on EMI) and Boult/LPO (also on EMI) are equally very good, reliable accounts. The latter has been coupled on cd with Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' and is one of the best sounding records featuring Boult. Still, this stellar RPO performance--brightly directed by maestro Andre Previn--will stay on my list as one of the most memorable moments in the course of 'The Planets'. *****"
Royal Philharmonic, can't beat it
A. Dedrick | Lexington, MA | 01/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This recording is, by far, the best recording of The Planets I have ever heard. The Chicago Symphony is great at caucaughony (ie, mvts i, iv, and v), but the Royal Philharmonic does a much better all around job on every movement. I recommend this recording to people of all musical experiences."
Classical fan or not, you'll love it
justbrowsing | 01/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the first classical CD I ever purchased, as a starry-eyed 16-year-old wanna be astronaut more enamored with the space-scene cover and the CD's title than having any particular knowledge of its contents. I got lucky. I've been buying classical ever since.But even a person with no particular fondness for classical will love this music. The sheer, raw, intense energy of Mars, the Elgarian styled central theme of Jupiter (think "Pomp & Circumstance", the graduation march, only a lot better). But best of all are the more mystic pieces: Venus, Neptune, Uranus. Whenever as a teenager my mind was not at ease I would listen to Venus and be calmed....OK, I'm getting campy here. But just to reassure you - I was NEVER a "Star Trek" fan.One last word: while the Previn recording is awesome, I've heard that Adrian Boult's recording with the London Philharmonic is by far the best. Buy that one if you can. If not this one will serve quite well."
Powerful and Deft Performance
Anne Haight | San Jose CA USA | 11/06/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is part of the core of my collection. Holst's compositions here are complex and difficult to perform, and the Royal Philharmonic, combined with Previn's extreme skill, executes a very strong and tight performance. "Jupiter" especially requires precise tempo and orchestra coordination, and it's flawless. The fidelity of the recording is top-notch and I've always been willing to buy albums on the Telarc label just because of the quality they always have. If you liked the score from "The Right Stuff" this is the album you have to have -- Conti stole most of it from Holst!"