Holst: The Planets

This was my first recording of "The Planets" when it was issued in the early 1970's on LP. I've been waiting for its re-issue on CD and was pleased to find it at budget price in the Eloquence series. Zubin Mehta brings youthful energy to the music, without going overboard, and the LA Philharmonic plays with style and class. The sound on LP was always excellent, typical of London/Decca engineering, and it sounds just as good in the remastering; there is some marginal tape hiss but nothing intrusive. For this price, it's a performance that's well worth adding to your collection, even if you already have another recording of the piece, just to hear Mehta's reading of the score.

Holst's "The Planets" ranks among my favourite classical pieces ever and this version by Mehta and the LA Philharmonic is the best version I've heard. In addition, the sound quality is quite good given the age of the recording and the fact that it comes from an analogue original source and so I can only imagine how much better this would be if it ever gets a remastering job from the best master tapes in Decca's vault.

Another reason why this cd deserves 5 stars is the fact that you get John Williams' "Close Encounters of the Third Kind Suite" and the "Star Wars Main Title" tracks here as well. It's just a stroke of inspiration putting these similarly-themed pieces on one disc.

Probably the best version of "The Planets" overall that you can get out there and at an unbelievably low price. Great value, good sound, great track selections.

Highly recommended.

At this price, this is a must have, this CD is excellent.

This CD were recorded with Surround System. In Home Cinema Systems or a Superb Stereo Systems, this recording can be played with excellent results.

As you know, "The Planets" is most famous and Most beatiful work by Holst. Supposing that, this is a film music. This Suite to take form in 7 movements. There isn't a Pluto movement, because, this planet was discovered in 30's (one or two years before Holst's death). And, in 1999, Colin Matthews written a new movement to named "Pluto, The Renewer" addition to suite's last movement "Neptune, The Mystic"...(Recording of this work is avaliable on Naxos conducted by David Lloyd - Jones)

And the performance is amazing. Perhaps, this is the best recording of Zubin Mehta with Los Angeles PO. Especially, the brass ensemble is terrific in Mars and Uranus movements. And Offstage Women's Chorus is very impressive in Neptune. Still this movement is very very...Read more