I've long had a soft spot for Boult's 1966 recording with the New Philharmonia, and remember borrowing the LP from the public library way back in the day. Now, though I have to make allowance for the terrible brass clam at 1:32 in 'Mars' - amazing that Boult or the recording engineers didn't insist on a re-take at the time.
the '87 Dutoit on Decca has been my reference from the moment I heard it and a lot of it comes down to the production. obviously the playing and all that is also outstanding and blah blah blah but the production and engineering on that sucker is some of the best I've ever heard on any classical record. I could tell the production was great even when I wasn't familiar enough with the piece to know how much it benefitted from having great production. Paul Myers and John Dunkerley should be incredibly proud of the work they did on that record for whatever reason I was under the assumption that that recording was THE reference, but I guess not lol
My preference for Boult is the last one from 1978. But my true reference recording is, and always will be, Steinberg/Boston. Bonus, is that fantastic cover art by Peter Wandrus. Yes, Dutoit is great, but Steinberg reigns supreme for me. (Considering your recent video regarding grammar, I hope I’ve placed my commas correctly.)
Being British and born in Bournemouth (where Holst once conducted the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra - now the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) Holst and the Planets have always held a special place for me. His ashes are interred just down the road from where I live now, in Chichester Cathedral. The Hymn ‘I Vow to the My Country’ which takes its music from ‘Jupiter’ is always played at Remembrance services throughout the UK - it is part of British culture. Adrian Boult’s and the LPO 1978 recording is definitely the Gold standard for me and really can’t be bettered. However, a performance that is slightly different and fresh is the one the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier, recorded on the 13th July 1996 at the Bridgwater Hall in Manchester (I think it was the first recording ever made there) - it’s definitely worth a listen if you get the chance.
The recording of THE PLANETS that is out of this world for me is the one done by ZUBIN MEHTA & THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC on London/Decca. THANKS DAVE..
@@GastonBulbous Apart from the reasons given that Boult is the obvious pick, Mehta's recording has personal touches that aren't usual for how the music goes. Don't get me wrong, I love the ferocious performance. Most audibly is he kept on the extra bass tuba called for in the Zarathustra coupling, which changes the whole feel of the sound. And the trombonist who covered the euphonium part plays with an audible vibrato, which Holst has been quoted as saying is incorrect for this piece. That musician played the same way for Stokowski's LA recording. He was the teacher of both bass tuba players, one of whom said he was just stuck in his ways about that style.
@@GastonBulbous We know it's fantastic...and he does too👌 Little known fact, but the Tuba parts are doubled on this recording. Roger Bobo & Tommy Johnson.
My reference triptych for The Planets consists of: Boult (EMI) , Steinberg (DG) and KARAJAN (Decca). The latter took me by surprise on the first hearings, as I wouldn't have guessed Holst to be HvK-territory - yet again a reminder to keep an open mind and ditto ears, whilst listening!. Á pro pos: the discmate of the Karajan-recording used to be the wonderful Enigma-variations with the LSO under Monteux. In spite of the Enigmas of Boult and Barbirolli, that I wouldn't live without, on balance I would nominate the Monteux as the reference recording of the work. On an anecdotal level, older members of the LSO, who had played or heard the work under the composer, marveled at how Monteux' tempi and overall conception of the work equalled Elgar's own in the concerthall. And, indeed, it is a marvel to behold the way Monteux seemlessly negotiates the transitions between the variations, each with their perfectly judged, individual tempi; his mercurial, but never superficial characterization of each variation; as well as the never wavering forward propulsion towards the climactic finale - Nimrod with just the appropiate gravitas and deepfelt emotional intensity without its emotional high point being turned into a faux and misjudged climax, therebv saving the climax for its rightful place' at the conclusion of the piece!
Can't believe you didn't mention the Bernstein NYPhil from the 70s. If you listened to the restored recording on SACD, you will be stunned at the sound that Columbia originally filtered out - so it wouldn't knock the styli out of the grooves. And the interpretation is vibrant, vivid and exciting.
I'm a little surprised that there's a RR for The Planets at all: I. didn't really think critical consensus had been reached for this piece, however the later Boult is truly great. Indeed, it was on EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" series along with Boult's equally fine Elgar Enigma Variations. Fabulous disc.
I had the Boult recording from 60's on budget Seraphim cassette. That cassette lived in my car for several years until I gave it to my cousin who was a Euphonium player and had never heard The Planets. He actually still has the cassette (bought it in mid 80's) but dares not play it in fear it will break 😂 Gave him the Mehta/LA recording on cd a few years later for Christmas.
Boult also recorded The Planets twice in the 50s: once with the Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra (I'm not sure, but I think that's actually the LPO) & once with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, of all things. His 66 & 78 recordings are both amazing, but I have a preference for 78, not least for its sumptuous sound. There's an episode of Futurama where Fry, a time traveler to the year 3000, calls the planet "Uranus," in the ordinary pronunciation. He gets corrected: "The name was changed because people were offended by how it sounded. It's now called 'Urrectum'". 😂
My first classical LP was Beethoven 6 with Boult/ Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra 👍 It seems that all the london orchestras had "other names" , but the conductors use their real names...or do they? 😮
I love this series. For some reason the Schumann Symphonies reference recording is not showing up in the reference recording playlist. I’m not sure if there are others that are missing, but I noticed that that one was.
I knew it had to be Boult. I learned the piece from the 1966 and still like to hear it every so often. Holst's own two recordings may be influenced by the absolutely acoustically dead broom closets he had to record them in. I have the records. There's no groove crowding at all on the 13 sides required. HMV did a few movements of The Planets with Albert Coates around 1926-31. Coates led the premiere of the complete work. Much better sound than Columbia; Mars is a scorcher, just demented. After hearing it, most other versions may sound like old folks feeding pigeons in the park.
Hi Dave! Many, many thanks for this fantastic series of reference recordings! I can't wait to dive into them. There are so many questions dancing in my mind! Is Radu Lupu still the go-to for Grieg's Piano Concerto? How about Oistrakh for Brahms' Violin Concerto? Are those Abbado recordings in London the ones for Mendelssohn's symphonies? And what about the Haydns: Bernstein and Brüggen, as you mentioned in previous videos? This series is fantastic! I'm absolutely thrilled!
Dear David: Excelente serie de las Reference Recordings. En relación con The Planets, me encanta la versión de John Williams y la Boston Pop Orchestra. ¿Hizo la R.R. de las Enigmas Variations de Elgar? Me gustaría saber sus preferencias. Saludos desde Bogotá 🤗
It is (or was) available on Heritage HTGCD 233 under the actual orchestra name, London Philharmonic. It is coupled with The Perfect Fool and Bax's Tintagel.
Even though it isn't classical music in the strictest sense, could you make a video about West Side Story? Some people I know swear by the Carreras/Te Kanawa recording, but others insist on the original Broadway recording or the film soundtrack. Is there a reference? Thanks for sharing your knowledge with this series. As a younger listener, I've really been enjoying the historical context!
It IS classical music, first of all, and if you want the best version this is the one: www.classicstoday.com/review/tilson-thomas-leads-brilliant-west-side-story/?search=1. I hope it's still available!
Hey Dave, I’ve got a question/video idea I’m curious about. What are some works that have yet to receive a really great commercial recording with good sonics, playing and interpretation that you would like to see get done properly? Thought of this as I came across Randall Thompson’s “A Trip to Nahant” which exists solely in just about the most muddled old radio performance imaginable from the BSO and Munch in the 50s. I’d love to hear about some repertoire (some niche, others perhaps less so than my example) that haven’t had an “ideal” version recorded but you’d like to see get proper treatment. Thanks so much for the videos, been really enjoying the dive into recording history in the reference recordings series!
In the original Greek the accent is on the last syllable: "ou-ra-NOS," but that meant "Heaven" in general and not one planet in particular. Latin never stresses the last syllable, and so put the accent on the first - "OU-ra-nus," where it is "preferred among astronomers" (Wikipedia). "You-RAY-nus" manages to violate both Greek and Latin usage. But, hey, the planet was discovered by an Englishman, and we hardly ever put accents on the original places in our words borrowed from Greek. So if you like "You-RAY-nus" that's fine with me.
You get Boult absolutely right there, Dave. He did wonders for English music during his Indian summer following his forced retirement by the BBC. I started my musical life with a prejudice against him instilled by my mother because he "looked like a bank manager" and lacked the charisma of the likes of elegant Sir Thomas Beecham, flashy Dr Malcolm Sargent and "le beau Charles" Munch. His recordings of the Planets, Elgar and Vaughan Williams symphonies and other works, Moeran, Finzi, Bax, etc soon showed how superficial this was. Anecdotally I have heard that Boult was reluctant to conduct Bax because he disapproved of that composer's private life; luckily that didn't seem to prevent a fine Lyrita record!
Never reject late-analogue recordings for not being digital. When the recording studios adopted digital recording they expected digital recording to solve all their problems -- when in fact analogue recordings were at the peak of the art of recording. Boult just missed the 'digital era' -- or the digital era just missed him. His 1978 recording sounds as good as any recording of the Planets... and it couldn't be more (sorry for my mixing of idioms) "echt". Does anyone get British music well as a conductor without being British? Previn counts as British because he grew up in England. Mackerras was Australian... close enough. Surprisingly such conductors as Klemperer, Szell, Dorati, Karajan, Kubelik, and Ozawa rarely recorded British music.
Very few non-Brit conductors would ever touch British music with the exception of The Planets. It's one of the tiny number of British works in the standard repertoire. The Enigma Variations fits this category too, but not nearly to the degree of The Planets.
It might be worth mentioning that Leonard Slatkin recorded wonderful Vaughan Williams and Elgar. It's high time these recordings were back in the catalogue. A big Slatkin box perhaps!
@@petercable7768 Andrew Litton has also done fantastic recordings of British music. Americans seem to be quasi-British in regards to recording British music, but they almost always do it with British orchestras. Slatkin's recordings were, notably, done with the LPO & Philharmonia, not with Saint Louis. And I would dearly love a Slatkin mega-box of all his RCA recordings, not just his Saint Louis stuff.
Exactly. The reason non-British conductors tend to avoid British music is because the English musical establishment trashes them when they try it--by and large. There are a few exceptions.
@@petercable7768 I can't say whether I prefer Previn, Boult, or Slatkin on RVW symphonies. It's likely between them. Of course, I listen to RVW far less often than to some other composers. Bernstein, I recall did the Enigma Variations and the Planets well enough... but at least he's from Massachusetts.
Yes, it was sponsored by KEF, as indicated on the original LP ASD 3649 British pressing. And, as indicated on the record jacket the year of copyright is 1979.
