The Planets discography

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

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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]
1923 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded 23 August (Mercury, Venus), 24 August (Uranus), 30 October (Mars, Saturn), 6 November (Neptune) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1]
1925 Gustav Holst London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded 19 February (Saturn), 15 September (Jupiter) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1]
1926 Gustav Holst Women of the London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra Columbia recorded complete on 22 June, 2 July, 14 Sept. and 22 Oct. at Petty France Studios; electrical recording; released in Dec. 1926;[1] re-issued on LP in 1972, on CD from 1991 onwards[2]
1926 Albert Coates Symphony Orchestra HMV only Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus; reissued on CD in 1992 on Koch Historic
1942 Ernest MacMillan Toronto Symphony Orchestra RCA Victor only Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter; released on CD in 2006 by Analekta, on Portrait: Sir Ernest MacMillan
1943 Leopold Stokowski NBC Symphony Orchestra Cala Records from an NBC radio broadcast in Studio 8H, New York City, the earliest American performance on disc
1945 Sir Adrian Boult BBC Symphony Orchestra HMV the first of Boult's five recordings of the work
1954 Sir Adrian Boult Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra; Members of the London Philharmonic Choir Nixa The orchestra was the London Philharmonic, under a pseudonym for contractual reasons
1954 Sir Malcolm Sargent London Symphony Orchestra, Women's Chorus Decca Kingsway Hall; engineer Kenneth Wilkinson
1956 Leopold Stokowski Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Roger Wagner Chorale Capitol the work's first stereo recording; issued on LP; reissued on CD by EMI
1958 Sir Malcolm Sargent BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Women's Chorus HMV reissued on CD on Classics for Pleasure
1959 Sir Adrian Boult Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Women of the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor Westminster
1961 Herbert von Karajan Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Vienna State Opera Chorus Decca remastered and reissued in 2007 in 24-bit, 96-kbps sound
1965 Sir Malcolm Sargent BBC Symphony Orchestra IMP Royal Festival Hall, London, February 3, 1965; issued on IMP CD in 1995
1966 Sir Adrian Boult New Philharmonia Orchestra, Women of The Ambrosian Singers HMV
1970 Bernard Haitink London Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the John Alldis Choir Philips
1970 Bernard Herrmann London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir Decca Phase 4 Stereo
1970 William Steinberg Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus Deutsche Grammophon recorded in Symphony Hall, Boston, in September and October 1970
1971 Leonard Bernstein New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Camerata Singers Columbia recorded in Philharmonic Hall in early December 1971; released on LP in 1973; reissued on CD in 1985 and 1997; music was subject of Bernstein's final Young People's Concerts broadcast in March 1972
1971 Zubin Mehta Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Female Voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale Decca An extra tubist, Tommy Johnson (tubist), was hired during the recording sessions.
1973 André Previn London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers EMI recorded Sept. 28–29, 1973, in Kingsway Hall, London; engineer Christopher Parker
1974 George Hurst Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Municipal Choir Contour recorded at Southampton Guildhall; producer Brian Culverhouse, engineer Brian Couzens
1974 Walter Susskind Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Arnatt Chorale and Missouri Singers Turnabout and VOX recorded in Powell Hall in Sept. 1974; issued in 1975; reissued in 2004 by MFSL as a hybrid multichannel SACD
1975 James Loughran Hallé Orchestra, Hallé Ladies Chorus CfP/EMI won a Gold Disc; in Dec. 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 reissued in 1993
1978 Sir Adrian Boult London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir EMI Boult's fifth and final studio recording, recorded May 12 and 30, June 4 and July 31, 1978, in Kingsway Hall and at Abbey Road, 60 years after he led the work's premiere; released for Boult's 90th birthday
1978 Sir Neville Marriner Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers Philips
1978 Sir Georg Solti London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir Decca Kingsway Hall, Feb. 1978
1979 Sir Alexander Gibson Scottish National Orchestra, Women's Voices of the RSNO Chorus Chandos recorded in Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 2–3 July 1979
1979 Seiji Ozawa Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus Philips recorded in Dec. 1979; reissued in 1992, 2005 and 2010
1980 Lorin Maazel Orchestre National de France, Ladies of the Maîtrise de Radio France CBS Masterworks Children's choir used in "Neptune". Digital recording; released in 1981
1980 Simon Rattle Philharmonia Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers EMI digital recording; Kingsway Hall, London, 29–30 Dec. 1980
1981 Karajan Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the RIAS Chamber Chorus Deutsche Grammophon recorded in the Philharmonie, Berlin, in Jan. 1981; digital recording
1986 Andrew Davis Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Children's Chorus HMV recorded in The Centre in The Square, Kitchener, Ontario, on 20 Jan. 1986
1986 André Previn Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Brighton Festival Chorus Telarc Digital Watford Town Hall, London, 14–15 April 1986
1986 John Williams Boston Pops Orchestra, Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus Philips Symphony Hall, Boston
1986 Charles Dutoit Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Chorus Decca / Penguin Classics recorded by Decca; reissued in 1998 by Penguin Classics; used for a multi-disciplinary (skating, ballet/dance, music) version;[3] awarded the 1987 Gramophone Award for Engineering [1]
1987 Eduardo Mata Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus Pro Arte
1987 Sir Charles Groves Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Philharmonia Chorus Sanctuary Classics recorded in July 1987 in Watford Town Hall
1987 Richard Hickox London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of London Voices IMP Classics recorded in Abbey Road Studio 1 on 8–9 July 1987
1987 Geoffrey Simon London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the London Symphony Chorus Delta Entertainment recorded at All Saints, Tooting; reissued in 1998
1988 William Boughton Philharmonia Orchestra Nimbus recorded in the Royal Albert Hall, London, 11–12 Jan. 1988
1988 Adrian Leaper Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Slovak Radio Symphony Chorus Naxos recorded 26–30 Nov. 1988 in Bratislava; released in 1989, including Holst's Suite de Ballet, Op. 10
1988 Sir Sir Charles Mackerras Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Virgin Classics recorded in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, in June 1988; released on CD 1989
1989 James Levine Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Deutsche Grammophon released in 1991
1989 Hilary Davan Wetton London Philharmonic Orchestra Collins Classics
1989 Sir Colin Davis Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Frauenchor des Rundfunkchores Berlin Philips
1990 Zubin Mehta New York Philharmonic, Women of the New York Choral Artists Teldec
1991 James Judd Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of King's College Choir, Cambridge Denon recorded in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, on 1–2 Dec. 1991; released on CD 1992. Boys' choir used in "Neptune".
1992 Ross Pople London Festival Orchestra, Ladies of St. Paul's Cathedral Choir ASV
1992 Yevgeny Svetlanov Philharmonia Orchestra, Women's Voices of The Sixteen Collins Classics reissued 1995 by Edgestone Classics (EC029); Svetlanov website indicates another recording by him with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra
1993 Mike Batt Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ladies from the John McCarthy Chorus   Guild recorded at Watford Town Hall, 25 August 1993; released in 2018
1993 Vernon Handley Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers Tring recorded Oct. 1993; released 1994
1993 Sir Andrew Davis BBC Symphony Orchestra, Women of the BBC Symphony Chorus Teldec recorded at St Augustine's Church, London, in December 1993
1994 José Serebrier Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ASV
1994 Sir John Eliot Gardiner Philharmonia Orchestra; Women's Voices of the Monteverdi Choir Deutsche Grammophon released in 1995
1995 Adrian Leaper Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria Arte Nova Classics live recording 25 January 1995 in the Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
1996 Leonard Slatkin Philharmonia Orchestra, New London Children's Choir BMG Classics released in 1997 on CD
1996 Yan Pascal Tortelier BBC Philharmonic BBC Music Magazine recorded July 13, 1996, in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
1997 Roy Goodman New Queen's Hall Orchestra, Ladies of New Queen's Hall Chorus Carlton Classics Historically informed performance
1997 Yoel Levi Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Telarc Digital recorded at Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, April 3–4, 1997
1998 Andrew Litton Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus Delos
1998 Djong Victorin Yu Philharmonia Orchestra Exton / Octavia Records Inc.
2001 David Lloyd-Jones Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ladies of RSNO Chorus Naxos recorded February 17–18, 2001, in Glasgow; released in 2002 on CD; issued also on DVD in 5.1 surround sound (Dolby+DTS); includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews as well as Holst's The Mystic Trumpeter
2001 Mark Elder Hallé Orchestra, Ladies of The Hallé Choir Hyperion recorded in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on 27–28 March 2001; 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
2002 Dennis Russell Davies Bruckner Orchester Linz Chesky Records recorded October 2–4, 2001, in the Brucknerhaus, Linz, Austria; released on SACD in 2002 and later as a digital download on Chesky's HDtracks site
2002 Sir Roger Norrington Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the SWR Vokalensemble and the Staatsopernchor Stuttgart Hänssler live recording made in the Liederhalle, Stuttgart, 27–29 June 2001
2002 Paul Freeman Czech National Symphony Orchestra CNSO recorded in the Rudolfinum, Prague, 2002; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews[4]
2003 Sir Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus LSO Live live recording for the orchestra's own label in 2003
2004 Owain Arwel Hughes Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of The Cambridge Singers Warner Classics recorded 26–27 April 2004 at Watford Colosseum; released on CD 2005; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews
2005 Yutaka Sado NHK Symphony Orchestra Avex
2005 Rico Saccani Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Chorus of the Hungarian State Opera House BPO Live
2006 Sir Simon Rattle Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Rundfunkchor Berlin EMI includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews
2009 Paavo Järvi Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Telarc
2009 Vladimir Jurowski London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir LPO recorded live in the Royal Festival Hall on 22 May 2009; released on CD in 2010
2011 Sir Andrew Davis BBC Philharmonic, Women of the Manchester Chamber Choir Chandos
2012 Gennady Rozhdestvensky BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Symphony Chorus ica classics First commercial issue of live 1980 performance at the Royal Festival Hall, London 
2014 David Robertson Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the Sydney Philharmonia Chorus Sydney Symphony Orchestra
2015 Michael Francis NYO Canada NYO Canada recorded 1–3 Aug. 2015 in the McGill Multimedia Room, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal
2016 Edward Gardner National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, CBSO Youth Chorus Chandos recorded 8–9 Aug. 2016 in Symphony Hall, Birmingham; released on CD in Feb. 2017
2016 Marko Munih Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Ladies of the RTV Chamber Choir Pentagon Classics
2019 Daniel Harding Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frauenchor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks BR Klassik
2019 Andrew Litton Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor BIS
2019 Michael Stern Kansas City Symphony, Women of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus Reference Recordings
2023 Sir Adrian Boult BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Singers and the London Choral Society ica classics Live recording from the 1973 Proms, Prom 47, 7 September 1973 (previously issued by BBC Music Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 10, July 2013)

Concert Band version

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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.

Two-piano transcription

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Year Artists Label Recording notes
1984 Richard Markham, David Nettle Psyche Two-piano transcription.
1998 Len Vorster, Robert Chamberlain Naxos Two-piano transcription.
2000 Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow Olympia Two-piano transcription.
2001 York2 (John York, Fiona York) Black Box One piano, four hands transcription. Reissued 2011 on Nimbus Records.
2004 Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Susan Bradshaw Delos Two-piano transcription.
2012 Anthony Goldstone, Caroline Clemmow Diversions Two-piano transcription.
2015 ZOFO (Eva-Maria Zimmermann, Keisuke Nakagoshi) SONO Luminus One-piano, four-hands transcription.

Other versions

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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.
1996 Peter Sykes Raven Version for organ.
2009 Hugh Banton Fie Organ transcription.
2010 Buzz Ensemble Fidelio Version for brass and organ.
2010 Stefan Moser H and M Version for organ.
2020 Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra OA2 Records Big Band version called The Planets: Reimagined.

References

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  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. ^ The Planets (Multi-disciplinary) version only reference was found here: at Amazon
  4. ^ Available at CNSO website, accessed 4 July 2018.