I am 82 years old and am happy to join the ranks of all those GROWN MEN who are bought to tears by this INCOMPARABLY BEAUTIFUL MUSIC. I was born and raised in Northern Worcestershire on the fringe of the Black Country and have lived in the USA now for over 50 years. I like to say I was born in the same place as Elgar and next door to the Great VW. I am now 82, sitting in the doctors office waiting for my wife, thanks be to MODERN MEDICAL SCIENCE. Ah here she comes. Best wishes to you all, and eternal thanks to the Great VW
When they have come to cast down everything that is great about the culture of these islands, I firmly believe that this will be one of the last beacons shining
No other piece of music has encapsulated the feeling of an eternity of space, space that stretches from the beginning of time and to the end of time...
I've just discovered this pice by holst. Looking by other comments a bit late in the day. Wow. I live it. Very different to his other works. By the second listing I could hum it through. I love it
Tennstedt, more than any other conductor of Mahler with whom I'm familiar, sensed and brought out the operatic aspect of the composer's scores. Whenever possible the lyric sensibility of the line is nurtured and expressed. There is a drama on stage projected throughout each movement. With many conductors Mahler presents at times a complexity of textures or numerous contrasts and changes of mood that results in the music bogging down. Tennstedt solved those challenges with his molding of phrases and maintaining a sense of moving forward. Tennstedt communicated directly with his audience and they responded with great enthusiasm!
A good capsule view of qualities that made Tennstedt such a marvelous conductor. His Mahler typically was exquisite, and he had an equally gifted touch with many other composers as well, notably Beethoven. His many years conducting opera in East Germany before coming west manifest themselves in his recordings of chorale works like Mahler 2 & 8, Beethoven 9, and Haydn's Creation, among others. He also was an outstanding accompanist to both instrumental and vocal soloists. For those interested, I heartily recommend the excellent biography by Georg Wübbolt to any Tennstedt devotee.
The climax at 8:56 is the most stirring, emotional music I've ever heard. When the horns come in to echo the strings' Hallelujah motif, it sends shivers down my spine and tears well up in my eyes. I love all RVW music, but this is transcendent.
This first cycle of Vanska with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra is for me, the best Sibelius' cycle! This right here, this movement, the way he did it...the way it builds to that peak... steadily surfing forth...heart smiles blissfully! In every other cycle, even his second, something is always tad off or missing. This is the golden Sibelius cycle! 7:06 onwards... ❤️❤️❤️❤️
My choir will be singing this in a performance this season and we just practiced the first four minutes for the first time last night. I hadn’t heard the beginning of the fourth movement before, literally one of the most beautiful moments of my life as we sightread together and heard this magic.
Some excellent playing by the Boston Symphony here. But there's a problem. Tchaikovsky's first movement is not marked "tempestuous," or "wild," or "stormy," or anything like that -- though that's how they play it. It's marked "Tranquillo." "Tranquil," in other words. This is just shit because it ignores, or fails to understand, what Tchaikosky plainly meant. To hear a truly "tranquil" reading of this, listen to Pletnev in his set of Tchaikovsky symphonies on DG. THAT's a great performance. Not this one.
Saw this live played by the Nova Scotia Symphony about twenty-five years ago. And as at the premiere referenced below by @daphneanson9587 the audience waited a full ten seconds or so before applauding. I only rarely listen to it even though I've owned a copy of it for thirty years. Its that achingly beautiful...
I love the fact that the singers on the original recording processed gradually out of the venue, hence the truly haunting and ethereal sound. Hoping very much to recreate this special piece in Suffolk next year, when Hadleigh Orchestra will perform with Hadleigh Community Choir.
You can see the direct inspiration for movie themes like Harry Potter and Star Wars Harry Potter is inspired by Neptune the mystic and Star Wars by mars bringer of war
I listened to this while reading Maus (a book about the holocaust), and the combination of this song and the holocaust made me cry for months, and still if I hear a single note of this song I start to cry…
Holst hated it when performances of The Planets opted to end with Jupiter - because he did not want the cheerful, upbeat conclusion. And I agree with him. *This* is the right ending for the work, not just because it's a great composition, but because the mysterious nature of the ocean's depths fits perfectly with Outer Space.
