Holst: The Planets/Grainger: The Warriors

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The idea of John Eliot Gardiner not only doing Holst's The Planets, but doing it so effectively, shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering his broad musical culture and the success he has always had with large-scale works. His interpretation is quite reminiscent of Sir Adrian Boult's mid-'60s account with the same orchestra (then called the New Philharmonia)--tasteful yet full of character, impeccably played, energetic, fresh. On top of that, the recording is breathtaking. There is extraordinary inner detail, with string tone that is natural (as is the timbre of winds and high percussion) and an astonishing amount of weight in the bass. The coupling, Percy Grainger's The Warriors, is a wonderfully erudite touch--just what we should expect from Gardiner--and a romp for him and the orchestra. --Ted Libbey

Holst: The Planets/Grainger: The Warriors, Music, Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, John Eliot Gardiner, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral, Suite for Orchestra

Holst: The Planets; Grainger: The Warriors
Average customer rating:

"The Planets" and "The Warriors" go well together

A sonic spectacular, like its bone-crunching forebears

Shallow technicolor

Spectacular - buy this!!!

Musically and technically extraordinary

Holst: The Planets; Grainger: The Warriors

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001GP6
Release Date: 1995-09-19

Tracks:

Die Krieger: The Warriors
The Planets Op.32 - Allegro: Mars, The Bringer Of War
The Planets Op.32 - Adagio - Andante - Animato - Tempo I: Venus, The Bringer Of Peace
The Planets Op.32 - Vivace: Mercury, The Winged Messenger
The Planets Op.32 - Allegro giocoso - Andante maestoso - Tempo I - Maestoso - Lento maestoso - Presto: Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity
The Planets Op.32 - Adagio - Andante: Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age
The Planets Op.32 - Allegro - Lento - Allegro - Largo: Uranus, The Magician
The Planets Op.32 - Andante - Allegretto: Neptune, The Mystic

Amazon.com

The idea of John Eliot Gardiner not only doing Holst's The Planets, but doing it so effectively, shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering his broad musical culture and the success he has always had with large-scale works. His interpretation is quite reminiscent of Sir Adrian Boult's mid-'60s account with the same orchestra (then called the New Philharmonia)--tasteful yet full of character, impeccably played, energetic, fresh. On top of that, the recording is breathtaking. There is extraordinary inner detail, with string tone that is natural (as is the timbre of winds and high percussion) and an astonishing amount of weight in the bass. The coupling, Percy Grainger's The Warriors, is a wonderfully erudite touch--just what we should expect from Gardiner--and a romp for him and the orchestra. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

"The Planets" and "The Warriors" go well together.......2007-04-19

John Eliot Gardiner is well known for his ability to mold his interpretation with the styles and practices of the composer and somehow make it all fresh and exciting. I am biased toward Gardiner so be forewarned. I have heard many recordings of Holst's "The Planets" and they all have something worth hearing. Someone emphasizes inners voices, accents, structure etc. in a different way and it's always worth a listen. The interesting thing about this recording is that there are lots of new things you can't hear anywhere else. I thought the more lyrical sections of "Venus" were carried off better than anyone else before. "Venus" is regarded as the less important piece in the set by casual listeners and for once we have a recording here that does not permit the casual listener to tune out. Every second of the "Venus" is compelling. "Neptune" is another highlight in the series in which I believe Gardiner adds something no one else has, the more transcendent and mystical qualities really come out. I could comment on every movement but the surprise treat of this CD is the opening track, Grainger's "The Warriors", which fits so well together with "The Planets" I should not be surprised if the same two pieces are recorded together again much like one finds the Schumann and Grieg piano concertos together. "The Warriors" is such an odd piece with scoring for three pianos! It is by no means an empty filler piece as some have suggested. It is a masterpiece from start to finish. When it comes to rhythmic savagery and libertine artistic license, this piece approaches the originality of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring". This recording was my introduction to the composer Percy Grainger. I've since learned both Grainger and Holst both had a passion for Wind Orchestra. Perhaps Gardiner was aware of the not so obvious or even debatable relation between these two composers but his choice to put "The Planets" and "The Warriors" together in one recording is well founded.

A sonic spectacular, like its bone-crunching forebears.......2006-08-25

From the first notes of Grainger's The Warriors, with its Gershwin-esque orchestration (xylophones out of American in Paris) and airy jauntiness, you realize that DG is bididng for a sonic spectacular. The Vienna Phil. scored a triumph in The Planets under Karajan in 1961, and Decca's Culshaw-era recording still packs a wallop. Karajan went on to give us another bone-crunching reading with the Berliners on DG. For podium power neither has been surpassed.

Yet this new recording is more detailed, natural, and wide-ranging than either. Gardiner isn't red-blooded enough in Mars, but soon you catch on to his approach, which is fleet and light. Jupiter, for example, is a frolic ocmpared to most readings that try to be more, well, jovial. Gardiner's once over lightly may not appeal to everyone; however, for sheer splendor of sound this CD is something special.

Shallow technicolor.......2006-07-04

I don't usually think of John Gardiner as being a shallow musician but I'll make an exception in this repertory. His rendition of Holst's "The Planets" sounded pretty good the first couple times I listened to it. Then I listened to it again and compared it directly against Adrian Boult's last recording with the same orchestra. Once there was a comparison, Gardiner's version became decidedly second rate.

This is not to say it is a poor version; far from it. The sound, in particular, is very good. The orchestra plays very well for him and one or two of Gardiner's planets -- Uranus in particular -- are worthy competitors for Boult. However, Boult got the same orchestra to sound about 10 times as lush and romantic as Gardiner, a period performance expert whose lean orchestral tone seems to have carried over here.

Gardiner's add on, Percy Grainger's rambunctious "The Warriors", seems well suited to accompany "The Planets". It is an interesting orchestral piece that makes a lot of noise without having much of anything to say and inhabits the same technicolor ground as Holst's work. Unfortunately, it is pretty empty music. I doubt you'd listen to this very often and probably never outside of spinning Gardiner's "Planets."

I'd recommend anyone that wants to hear this music the way it's supposed to sound to purchase any of Adrian Boult's stereo recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. See how he expands the music and makes it more fitting as an orchestral showpiece defining the universe. In addition, you get Boult's near definitive version of Elgar's "Enigma" variations, a far meatier and substantial piece of music than Grainger's "The Warriors."

One caveat: audiophiles seeking the most perfect sounding version of "The Planets" should probably stick with Gardiner's SACD version. I compared it to Boult's and didn't see much difference but the artistic rendering is what I sought. If your decision is based on sound alone, Gardiner should be the one.

Spectacular - buy this!!!.......2006-05-09

This CD is one of my favorites - and was the first to turn me on to John Eliot Gardiner who I have since come to regard as one of the greats of our time. Everything I have that he has done is spectacular and so representative of the time period of he is working in.

Gardiner is so careful to reproduce the style of a specific period. Whether it be Bach, Beethoven, or Berlioz, it's always done in a style that the composer would recognize. Too many conductors produce what we [or they] are hearing today - which does provide a new look, but also neglects sometimes what the composer would have wanted.

Gardiners take on the Planets is breath-taking and hair-raising and barn-burning and ... awesome! There are very few technical problems with this recording (I do recall one squeek of a clarinet or something in Jupiter at a big forte-piano hit). The rest of the playing is done in such a wonderful essence.

The Grainger is exceptional too!

I highly recommend this CD for someone looking for a place to start with Holst.

Musically and technically extraordinary.......2005-08-04

I haven't many bones to pick with this disc. One of the first things I noticed about this CD was the sound. The recording location is listed in the back of the liner notes as "London, All Hallows, Gospel Oak." I'm not an expert on London, so I'm not really sure where this is, but I don't think it is the Philharmonia's regular concert hall. The sound is bigger and richer than most any recording I have ever heard of the Planets. It seems that Gardiner (or whoever is in charge of finding reccording venues) specifically chose a concert hall that lets the sound build off of itself. This is one of the rare occasions where the fff and ffff dynamics are actually achieved. However, that's not to say that the quiet dynamics aren't quiet, because they are as soft as any other orchestra in these spots. Kudos to the Philharmonia Orchestra for this and for technical mastery in general. They are certainly the best orchestra in England, and they could give the Berlin Philharmonic a run for their money any day. They are highlighted well by the sound engineers. The clarity is outstanding and the different sections are balanced well.
Reviews below seem to contain mixed feelings concerning Gardiner's interpretation - scholarly vs. analytical, electrifying vs. restrained. I believe Mr. Libbey up above hits the nail on the head. Gardiner's account is tasteful yet full of character. It's not just intelligent music-making, it has feeling too. In my opinion it's one of the most English-sounding Planets CDs out there. (What a coincidence that Gardiner's dad, Henry Balfour Gardiner, was a generous patron of Holst and Grainger.) It is true that these performances are calculated, but they are definitely not cold. There are several interesting things Gardiner does interpretively. I certainly haven't heard Jupiter played this fast or Mars played this slowly. The first time I heard this rendition of Mars I was almost offended by its sluggishness. But upon repeated listenings I discovered that the rhythmic accuracy is very good, much better than in most other recordings, which sacrifice much of the incisiveness while running only slightly faster. It seems that in this case performing just a little bit slower pays off very well. The intensity is maintained, although at this pace it seems more sustained and overpowering, as opposed to being volatile and strident (both work well; the latter is achieved through a very quick tempo, the opposite of what we have here). The inner movements are taken at a faster pace than most, without losing any of their integrity - in fact, much is gained from this treatment. They are leaner and less sappy, altogether more dignified. Neptune, in addition to Mars, is slower. And it seems Gardiner places the most weight on these two movements - the opening and closing. I've never heard it done this way; usually the greatest weight is placed on Jupiter and Saturn. Here, Neptune gets the "finale" treatment without being too bent out of proportion, and Mars is actually longer than Venus - a rarity among Planets recordings. Overall, the structure is radically different but equally as effective.
I highly recommend this recording. Check it out. If you're not satisfied, go to Dutoit/Montreal - a completely different interpretation, which (for some reason) seems to be the most popular these days. Also noteworthy, if you can find it, is an out of print recording with Roy Goodman conducting the Queen's Hall Orchestra, possibly the most revolutionary and visceral recording of this work, and my personal favorite.

*On a side note, Achim Holub is the assistant conductor to Gardiner in the Grainger (which actually calls for three, but they cheated), and NOT the assistant conductor of the orchestra who happens to conduct the Grainger by himself, as another reviewer said.

Holst: The Planets; Grainger: The Warriors

Average customer rating:

good but not great

Holst: The Planets; Grainger: The Warriors

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000084H8Y
Release Date: 2003-05-13

Customer Reviews:

good but not great.......2007-04-26

Please see other reviews of this recording in the standard CD version also available at Amazon.
First of all, the sound on this disc is great with a very wide dynamic range and crystal clear high and low frequencies.
The majority of the movements are really very good, but Mars falls short for me. The tempo seems just a bit slow and as a result the energy is lacking. Also as a result of a slower tempo, the orchestra never actually sounds strained, aggressive, or angry during the movement that is about war.
This is a fine recording and the SACD sound is really great. I just prefer a the recording by Dutoit and Montreal.

This Sceptred Isle: Music Inspired By the Events of the 20th Century

Average customer rating:

I HAVE seen this CD and really like it.

This Sceptred Isle: Music Inspired By the Events of the 20th Century

Manufacturer: BBC Legends
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004KDFI
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Customer Reviews:

I HAVE seen this CD and really like it........2003-10-31

This is a two CD set on which, though several of the cuts are edited, more than half appear in their entirety. What a splendid set they make! I've always been a fan of the musical grandeur evinced in British Imperial music. This album, particularly the first disc, offers music from this genre in spades, both instrumental and choral works. Hubert Parry's "I Was Glad" shines out in dazzling brilliance. Listening to Walton's warhorse "Crown Imperial" and Elgar's "Coronation March" we can visualize the full ceremony of state. And listening to Coates' "Dam Busters March" brings to mind all the hope of a proud people fighting, down to its last collective drop of blood, a mortal threat being wrought by an invader's ruthless forces. I'm sure this sounds melodramatic, but after all, total emotion is what this music is all about. I might ask for a cut or two less of Coates or Walton, not because those recordings were not excellent, but because, instead, I'd have liked a cut from Bridge, Tippett, or even Rutter. But, excepting that slight objection, this CD duo does its job most excellently and well.

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