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Discussion: Holst: The Planets - Boult

Posts: 23
Page: 1 2 3 next

Post by rybergadams April 7, 2013 (1 of 23)
This has always been my favorite performance of Holst's "The Planets". While it may not be as well recorded or even played as his later LPO account, it easily surpasses the later recording as an interpretation. Here Boult finds power and force in Mars, Jupiter and Uranus and much more mystery and beauty in Venus, Saturn and Neptune. Mercury is great in both accounts. I judge all other recordings of "The Planets" against this one and almost all come up short with the exception of Previn EMI and Haitink Philips but even they don't quite match Boult's overall mastery of mood and form. The 1966 recording was never one of EMI's best although it does have wonderful atmosphere but also a slightly bright upper midrange. The EMI CD mastering from the late 1990s was very disappointing. This new Esoteric is superb and reveals this classic recording to be much better than I suspected. The bright edge seems much smoother than I expected it would while it still has plenty of bite and power as well as bass response that I didn't know the recording had. The Esoteric transfer is wonderfully detailed and transparent and the atmosphere is retained. It's great to see such a beloved recording available in sound that does the performance justice. Based on this disc, I wouldn't hesitate to buy more Esoteric discs although the price is more than a little steep. Still....well worth it for this.

Post by hiredfox April 7, 2013 (2 of 23)
rybergadams said:

This has always been my favorite performance of Holst's "The Planets". While it may not be as well recorded or even played as his later LPO account, it easily surpasses the later recording as an interpretation etc

Where did you buy your copy. I've been trying to locate a copy in the UK but it seems there is no longer an importer here since Symmetry dropped the brand?

Post by Jonalogic April 7, 2013 (3 of 23)
hiredfox said:

Where did you buy your copy. I've been trying to locate a copy in the UK but it seems there is no longer an importer here since Symmetry dropped the brand?

Good question, I would contact Nigel Crump (CEO Symmetry), but he seems to be hiding from me - and everyone else - at the moment.

Post by bwcgrx1 April 7, 2013 (4 of 23)
I purchased this back in December from an eBay vendor based in Japan. As rybergadams mentioned the price of entry is not cheap but I must agree that it is indeed worth the ticket price. This performance and Previn’s from 1974, also available in on excellent SACD from Japan, are my go to recordings of this work on interpretive grounds. I was not expecting much of an improvement over EMI’s CD from a few years back, however I was very surprised at how much more open and dynamic the re-master sounds. Another plus the Esoteric has is a general lack of distortion in the climaxes. In short if you still love to listen to this work as I do and appreciate Boult’s interpretive approach then buy this and enjoy.

Post by hiredfox April 7, 2013 (5 of 23)
Jonalogic said:

Good question, I would contact Nigel Crump (CEO Symmetry), but he seems to be hiding from me - and everyone else - at the moment.

May have gone out of business?

Post by rammiepie April 7, 2013 (6 of 23)
Wasn't there a version of Boult's The Planets with the London Ambrosian Singers which was released as an {EMI} Angel SQ Quadraphonic disc back in the 70's?

Post by Ubertrout April 7, 2013 (7 of 23)
rammiepie said:

Wasn't there a version of Boult's The Planets with the London Ambrosian Singers which was released as an {EMI} Angel SQ Quadraphonic disc back in the 70's?

Are you sure you're not thinking of Previn, which was subsequently released on DVD-Audio?

For Boult's last recording, sayeth Wikipedia: His last recording of The Planets made in May 1978 was taped in experimental digital sound, although technical problems led EMI to release an analogue version. Citation is The Gramophone, September 1981, p. 344.

Post by rammiepie April 7, 2013 (8 of 23)
Ubertrout said:

Are you sure you're not thinking of Previn, which was subsequently released on DVD-Audio?

For Boult's last recording, sayeth Wikipedia: His last recording of The Planets made in May 1978 was taped in experimental digital sound, although technical problems led EMI to release an analogue version. Citation is The Gramophone, September 1981, p. 344.

I have the DVD~A of Previn's EMI Planets but I distinctly recall a Boult Planets with the London Ambrosian Singers from the 70's. It was an incredibly atmospheric rendering of the score....perhaps that's why I remember it so fondly.

Previn's Planets was also issued as a DTS RBCD in 1998.

Post by akiralx April 7, 2013 (9 of 23)
hiredfox said:

May have gone out of business?

Just try eBay or CDJapan.

Post by Jonalogic April 8, 2013 (10 of 23)
hiredfox said:

May have gone out of business?

Hope not - I'm sniffing around a pair of Stax cans at present, and he's the UK agent/importer...!

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