The Planets discography

For the discography of the band, see The Planets (band). For other uses, see Planets (disambiguation).

This is a discography of commercial recordings of The Planets, Op. 32, an orchestral suite by Gustav Holst, composed between 1914 and 1916, and first performed by the Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult on 29 September 1918. It includes the composer's own recordings made in 1922–1923 and 1926. The chorus is identified where information is available.

Orchestral version

Year Conductor Orchestra and Chorus Label Recording notes
1922 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded 27 October 1922 (Jupiter only) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1], reissued in 2008 on Pristine Classical and in 2014 on Explore Multimedia
1923 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded 23 August (Mercury, Venus), 24 August (Uranus), 30 October (Mars, Saturn) & 6 November (Neptune) 1923 at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1], reissued in 2008 on Pristine Classical and in 2014 on Explore Multimedia
1925 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded 19 February (Saturn) & 15 September (Jupiter) 1925 at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1], reissued in 2014 on Explore Multimedia
1926 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the London Symphony Chorus Columbia recorded complete on 22 June, 2 July, 14 September and 22 October 1926 at Petty France Studios, London; electrical recording; released in December 1926;[1] re-issued on LP in 1972, on CD from 1991 onwards[2] and frequently reissued[3]
1926 Albert Coates Symphony Orchestra His Master's Voice only Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus, recorded September 1926 in Kingsway Hall, the London Symphony Orchestra giving an uncredited performance; reissued on CD in 1992 on Koch Historic
1936 Adrian Boult Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Boston Symphony Orchestra SOMM Ariadne recorded live 2 February 1936 in Symphony Hall, Boston
1942 Ernest MacMillan Toronto Symphony Orchestra RCA Victor only Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter, recorded 27 March 1942 at Massey Hall, Toronto; released on CD in 2006
1943 Leopold Stokowski NBC Symphony Orchestra Cala Records NBC radio broadcast of 14 February 1943 in Studio 8H, New York City, the earliest American performance on disc; reissued on Pristine Classical
1945 Sir Adrian Boult BBC Symphony Orchestra His Master's Voice recorded 2-5 January 1945 at the Corn Exchange, Bedford, Producer: Walter Legge, balance engineer: Arthur Clarke; the first of Boult's five recordings of the work
1953 Sir Adrian Boult Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra; Members of the London Philharmonic Choir Nixa recorded in September 1953 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall. The orchestra was the London Philharmonic, under a pseudonym for contractual reasons
1954 Sir Malcolm Sargent London Symphony Orchestra, Women's Chorus Decca recorded 17 & 20-21 March 1954 in Kingsway Hall, London; Producer James Walker, engineer Kenneth Wilkinson; reissued in 2005 by Pristine Classical and in 2025 by Eloquence Australia
1956 Leopold Stokowski Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Roger Wagner Chorale Capitol the work's first stereo recording, made 2-3 September 1956 on Stage Seven of the Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Hollywood; issued on LP; reissued on CD by EMI and on High Definition Tape Transfer
1957 Sir Malcolm Sargent BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Women's Chorus His Master's Voice recorded 12 August and 2 & 3 September 1957 in Kingsway Hall
1957 Sir John Barbirolli RAI Turin Symphony Orchestra and Chorus The Barbirolli Society without 'Saturn' and 'Neptune', 'Jupiter' placed at the end of the performance; recorded live on 15 November 1957 at the Auditorium RAI Turin
1959 Sir John Barbirolli New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra West Hill Radio Archives without 'Saturn' and 'Neptune', 'Jupiter' placed at the end of the performance; recorded live on 18 January 1959 in Carnegie Hall; released in 2010
1959 Sir Adrian Boult Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Women of the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor Westminster recorded 15-27 March 1959 in the Konzerthaus, Vienna; reissued on CD by MCA Records and Westminster, also remastered for High Definition Tape Transfers
1961 Herbert von Karajan Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Vienna State Opera Chorus Decca recorded 5-22 September 1961 at the Sofiensaal, Vienna; reissued on CD in 2007
1965 Sir Malcolm Sargent BBC Symphony Orchestra IMP BBC Radio Classics recorded live 3 February 1965 at the Royal Festival Hall, London; issued on CD in 1995
1966 Sir Adrian Boult New Philharmonia Orchestra, Women of The Ambrosian Singers His Master's Voice recorded 21-22 July 1966 in Kingsway Hall, London; Producer: Peter Andry, balance engineer: Christopher Parker
1970 Bernard Herrmann London Philharmonic Orchestra, Louis Halsey Singers Decca Phase 4 Stereo; recorded 23-25 February 1970 in Kingsway Hall, London
1970 Bernard Haitink London Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the John Alldis Choir Philips recorded March 1970
1970 William Steinberg Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus Deutsche Grammophon recorded September/October 1970 in Symphony Hall, Boston; released in 1971
1971 Zubin Mehta Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Female Voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale Decca recorded 19 April 1971 at the Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles; an extra tubist, Tommy Johnson (tubist), was hired during the recording sessions.
1971 Leonard Bernstein New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Camerata Singers Columbia recorded in early December 1971 in Avery Fisher Hall; released in 1973; reissued on CD in 1985 and 1997, and remastered on SACD in 2022 by Dutton; music was subject of Bernstein's final Young People's Concerts broadcast in March 1972
1973 Sir Adrian Boult BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Singers and the London Choral Society BBC Music Magazine / ica recorded live 7 September 1973 at the Royal Albert Hall; originally issued with the BBC Music Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 10, July 2013
1973 André Previn London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers EMI recorded 28-29 September 1973 in Kingsway Hall, London; engineer: Christopher Parker; reissued not only on CD, but also on DVD Audio
1974 George Hurst Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Municipal Choir Contour recorded at Southampton Guildhall; producer Brian Culverhouse, engineer Brian Couzens; reissued in 2010
1974 Walter Susskind Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Arnatt Chorale and Missouri Singers Turnabout and VOX recorded September 1974 in Powell Hall, Saint Louis; reissued in 2004 by MFSL as a hybrid multichannel SACD
1975 James Loughran Hallé Orchestra, Hallé Ladies Chorus EMI Classics for Pleasure recorded in July 1975 at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester; in December 2009 came 8th in BBC's Top 30 Most Played classical recordings over three-quarters of a century
1975 Eugene Ormandy The Philadelphia Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia RCA Red Seal recorded in December 1975 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Philadelphia; the recording was used for Ken Russell's film The Planets of 1983; reissued in 1993
1977 Neville Marriner Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers Philips recorded 22-24 June 1977 in Amsterdam, released in 1978
1978 Sir Georg Solti London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir Decca recorded in February 1978 in Kingsway Hall
1978 Sir Adrian Boult London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir EMI Boult's fifth and final studio recording, recorded 12 and 30 May, 4 June and 31 July 1978, in Kingsway Hall and at Abbey Road, 60 years after he led the work's premiere; released for Boult's 90th birthday
1979 Sir Alexander Gibson Scottish National Orchestra, Women's Voices of the RSNO Chorus Chandos recorded 2–3 July 1979 at Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow
1979 Kazuyoshi Akiyama Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released in 1980
1979 Seiji Ozawa Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus Philips recorded in December 1979 in Symphony Hall, Boston
1980 Kazuyoshi Akiyama Tokyo Symphony Orchestra FINE released in 2001
1980 Gennady Rozhdestvensky BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Symphony Chorus ica classics performed live 12 March 1980 at the Royal Festival Hall, London; first released in 2012
1980 Simon Rattle Philharmonia Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers EMI recorded 29–30 December 1980 in Kingsway Hall, London; digital recording
1981 Lorin Maazel Orchestre National de France, Maîtrise de Radio France CBS Masterworks Children's choir used in Neptune; recorded 4-5 July 1981 in Studio 104, Radio France, Paris
1981 Herbert von Karajan Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the RIAS Kammerchor Deutsche Grammophon recorded in January 1981 in the Berliner Philharmonie
1986 Andrew Davis Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Children's Chorus His Master's Voice recorded 20 January 1986 in the Centre in The Square, Kitchener, Ontario
1986 André Previn Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Brighton Festival Chorus Telarc recorded 14–15 April 1986 at Watford Town Hall
1986 John Williams Boston Pops Orchestra, Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus Philips recorded in June 1986 in Symphony Hall, Boston
1986 Charles Dutoit Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Chorus Decca recorded in June 1986 at St Eustache, Montreal
1986 Geoffrey Simon London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the London Symphony Chorus Delta Entertainment recorded at All Saints Church, Tooting; reissued in 1998
1987 Eduardo Mata Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus Pro Arte recorded at Cliff Temple Baptist Church, Dallas; issued in surround sound on SION
1987 Richard Hickox London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of London Voices IMP Classics recorded 8–9 July 1987 in Abbey Road Studio 1
1987 Sir Charles Groves Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Philharmonia Chorus Sanctuary Classics recorded in July 1987 at the Watford Town Hall
1988 William Boughton Philharmonia Orchestra Nimbus recorded 11–12 January 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall, London
1988 Adrian Leaper Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Slovak Radio Symphony Chorus Naxos recorded 26–30 November 1988 in Bratislava
1988 Sir Charles Mackerras Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Virgin Classics recorded in June 1988 at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall; released in 1989
1988 Sir Colin Davis Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Frauenchor des Rundfunkchores Berlin Philips recorded in December 1988 in the Berliner Philharmonie
1989 James Levine Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Deutsche Grammophon recorded in June 1989 in Orchestra Hall, Chicago; released in 1991
1989 Hilary Davan Wetton London Philharmonic Orchestra Collins Classics recorded at All Saints Church, Tooting; also released in 2011 as cover CD with Classic FM Magazine, issue 198
1989 Zubin Mehta New York Philharmonic, Women of the New York Choral Artists Teldec recorded in November 1989
1991 Yevgeny Svetlanov Philharmonia Orchestra, Women's Voices of The Sixteen Collins Classics recorded in November 1991
1991 James Judd Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Choristers of King's College Choir, Cambridge Denon Boys' choir used in Neptune; recorded 1–2 December 1991 in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London
1992 Ross Pople London Festival Orchestra, Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral Choir ASV Boys' choir used in Neptune; recorded at All Saints Church, Tooting
1992 Marko Munih Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Ladies of the RTV Chamebr Choir Pentagon Classics
1993 Mike Batt Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ladies from the John McCarthy Chorus  Guild recorded 25 August 1993 at Watford Town Hall; released in 2018
1993 Vernon Handley Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers Tring recorded in October 1993 at St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London
1993 Christopher Seaman National Youth Orchestra of Scotland LINN Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus only
1993 Sir Andrew Davis BBC Symphony Orchestra, Women of the BBC Symphony Chorus Teldec recorded in December 1993 at St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London
1994 John Eliot Gardiner Philharmonia Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Monteverdi Choir Deutsche Grammophon recorded in February 1994 at All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London; released in 1995
1994 José Serebrier Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ASV recorded at the studios of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
1994 Yevgeny Svetlanov Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, ladies of Swedish Radio Choir Weitblick recorded live 3 September 1994; released in 2013
1995 Adrian Leaper Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria Arte Nova Classics recorded live 25 January 1995 in the Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
1996 Leonard Slatkin Philharmonia Orchestra, New London Children's Choir RCA Children's choir used in Neptune; recorded 10-12 April 1996 in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London; released in 1997
1996 Roy Goodman New Queen's Hall Orchestra, Ladies of New Queen's Hall Chorus Carlton Classics Historically informed performance, recorded 11-12 May 1996 in Abbey Road Studio 1; released in 1997
1996 Yan Pascal Tortelier BBC Philharmonic BBC Music Magazine recorded 13 July 1996 in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; issued with the BBC Music Magazin Vol. 5, no. 1, September 1996
1997 Yoel Levi Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Telarc recorded 3-4 April 1997 at Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta
1997 Andrew Litton Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus Delos recorded 18-21 September 1997 in McDermott Hall, Meyerson Center, Dallas; released in January 1998
1998 Djong Victorin Yu Philharmonia Orchestra, Women of the Philharmonia Chorus Exton recorded 13-16 July 1998 in the Abbey Road Studios, London
1999 Rico Saccani Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Chorus of the Hungarian State Opera House BPO Live recorded 27 March 1999 at the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest; released in 2003
1999 Thomas Kalb Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg Antes
2001 David Lloyd-Jones Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ladies of Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus Naxos recorded 17-18 February 2001 at the Glasgow City Halls; issued also on DVD in 5.1 surround sound (Dolby+DTS); includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews
2001 Mark Elder Hallé Orchestra, Ladies of The Hallé Choir Hyperion recorded 27–28 March 2001 in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews (commissioned by the Hallé Concerts Society and first performed by the Hallé under Kent Nagano in 2000); also includes the original and modified-ending versions of Neptune
2001 Sir Roger Norrington Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the SWR Vokalensemble and the chorus of the Staatsoper Stuttgart Hänssler recorded live 27–29 June 2001 in the Liederhalle, Stuttgart; released in 2002
2001 Dennis Russell Davies Bruckner Orchester Linz Chesky Records recorded 2-4 October 2001 in the Brucknerhaus, Linz, Austria; released on SACD in 2002 and later as a digital download on Chesky's HDtracks site
2002 Paul Freeman Czech National Symphony Orchestra CNSO recorded 7 & 9 2002 in the Rudolfinum, Prague; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews, and also the original and modified-ending versions of Neptune
2002 Sir Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus LSO Live recorded live in June 2002 at the Barbican Centre, released in 2003
2004 Owain Arwel Hughes Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of The Cambridge Singers Warner APEX recorded 26–27 April 2004 at Watford Colosseum; released in 2005; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews
2005 Yutaka Sado NHK Symphony Orchestra Avex
2006 Sir Simon Rattle Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Rundfunkchor Berlin EMI includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews; recorded live 18 March 2006 in the Berliner Philharmonie
2008 Roman Brogli-Sacher Philharmonisches Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck, Choirs of the Theater Lübeck Musicaphon recorded in October 2008 at the Lübeck Musik- und Kongresshalle
2008 Paavo Järvi Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Telarc recorded 23–24 November 2008 at Music Hall, Cincinnati
2009 Vladimir Jurowski London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir LPO recorded live 22 May 2009 at the Royal Festival Hall; released in 2010
2010 Sir Andrew Davis BBC Philharmonic, Ladies of the Manchester Chamber Choir Chandos recorded 24-25 June 2010 in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; released 2011
2013 Naoto Otomo Tokyo Symphony Orchestra King
2014 David Robertson Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the Sydney Philharmonia Chorus Sydney Symphony Orchestra recorded live 11-12 July 2013, 14-15 February and 1 March 2014 in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and released on SACD and Blu-ray
2015 Michael Francis National Youth Orchestra of Canada NYO Canada recorded 1–3 August 2015 in the McGill Multimedia Room, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal
2015 Michael Stern Kansas City Symphony, Women of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus Reference Recordings recorded at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City; released in 2019
2016 Edward Gardner National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, CBSO Youth Chorus Chandos recorded 8–9 August 2016 in Symphony Hall, Birmingham; released in February 2017
2017 Andrew Litton Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor BIS recorded in February 2017 in Grieghallen, Bergen; released on SACD in 2018
2022 Daniel Harding Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks BR Klassik recorded live 25 February 2022 at the Herkulessaal, Munich
2024 Jaime Martín Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus Melbourne Symphony Orchestra recorded in 2024 in Hamer Hall, Melbourne

Holst's own two-piano transcription

Year Artists Label Recording notes
1984 Richard Markham, David Nettle Psyche Recorded on 6-8 November 1984 at St Jude's Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb
1986 Richard Rodney Bennett, Susan Bradshaw Delos Recorded in London; released 1987
1996 Anthony Goldstone, Caroline Clemmow Albany/Olympia/Diversions Recorded at St John the Baptist Church, Alkborough (Lincolnshire)
1998 Len Vorster, Robert Chamberlain Naxos Recorded on 5 and 12 July 1997 at the Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Centre, Melbourne, Australia
2025 Ben Schoeman, Tessa Uys Somm Recorded on 1-2 February 2025

Concert Band version

Year Conductor Ensemble Label Recording notes
1989 Eric Banks London Symphonic Wind Orchestra EMI Music Japan Recorded at Abbey Road Studios on 11–12 April 1989.
Wind orchestra version of the complete seven-movement suite transcribed by Cy Payne.
1994 Frederick Fennell Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra King Records, Japan Recorded at Iruma Shimin Kaikan Hall (Saitama, Japan) on 3–4 Nov. 1994. Released in 1995.
Concert band version by Takuzo Inagaki.
1994 Daniel Sieber « Belalp » Jubilee Wind Orchestra Tonstudio AMOS Recorded at Zentrum Missione, Naters on 26–27 Nov. 1994.
Concert band version by Pierre-Alain Bidaud, Jean-Pierre Hartmann and Daniel Sieber.
1996 James Watson Black Dyke Mills Band Doyen Brass band version by Stephen Roberts.
1998 Eddie Green University of Houston Wind Ensemble Mark Custom Concert band version by Merlin Patterson.
2003 Commander Yoshiiku Aoki Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band, Tokyo Universal Music Japan Live recording at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall on 3 February 2003.
Concert band version by Tatsuya Konishi.
2005 Ton van de Kieft Noordenwind Molenaar Edition Live recording at Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam on 1 July 2005.
Concert band version by Geert Schrijvers.

Other versions

Year Primary musicians Label Recording notes
1976 Isao Tomita RCA Released in 1976/1991. Free arrangement and abridgement for electronic synthesiser.
1985 Kevin Peek with Rick Wakeman and Jeff Wayne Progressive rock version called Beyond the Planets.
1989 Ed Starink Star Inc. Synthesizered version.
1996 Peter Sykes Raven Version for organ.
2001 York2 (John York, Fiona York) Black Box/Nimbus Reduction for piano for four hands by the composer with Nora Day and Vally Lasker, edited by John and Fiona York.
2009 Hugh Banton Fie Organ transcription.
2010 Buzz Ensemble Fidelio Version for brass and organ.
2010 Stefan Moser H and M Version for organ.
2015 ZOFO (Eva-Maria Zimmermann, Keisuke Nakagoshi) SONO Luminus Piano duet transcription by ZOFO.
2020 Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra OA2 Records Big Band version called The Planets: Reimagined.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Stuart, Philip. The LSO Discography. 2009. Available at CHARM website, accessed 28 March 2013.
  2. ^ All the music from The Planets conducted by the composer, including alternate takes and original couplings, was issued together for the first time in 2014: Sanders, A. Review of Explore Multimedia ExM008. Classical Recordings Quarterly. Autumn 2014, No 78, p59–60.
  3. ^ For a track listing of all the matrices numbers etc see http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Nov14/Holst_recordings_EXM008.htm
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Planets_discography