The planets

"From the menace of Mars, bringer of war, to the serene beauty of Venus, the mix of jollity and nobility in Jupiter, the unworldly sadness of Saturn and the pianissimo dissonance of Neptune, this is a revelatory performance. Horns and woodwind are expressive, strings lithe, the layers of wordless high voices perfectly blended ... The British conductor, heard more abroad than at home, is a force to reckon with. If you thought you knew this most popular work inside out, give the Bavarians' account a listen".

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"To my ears, this relaxed approach is very much the undoing of Harding in this recording, with virtually every one of the movements in the suite noticeably slower than the norm ... To be fair to Harding, it is not all bad. In Venus, he inspires the Bavarian players to produce playing of cool and sensuous beauty and elsewhere in the work they play with accuracy and dedication ... All in all, it is a pity - this is yet another entry into the disappointing editions of British conductors paired with a foreign orchestra in a work that deserves to shine much more brightly than it does here".

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"The first thing to say about Harding's account here is that it is objectively slow ... The first impressions of 'Mars' are deeply disappointing ... This is a dull trudge through battlefield mud, not a gleaming war machine mercilessly sweeping aside frail humanity ... 'Venus' is much more engaging, featuring some predictably lovely solo playing by instrumentalists of the BRSO ... My distinct antipathy to the manner of the opening movement apart, this is not a necessarily a "bad" account - but I can see no compelling reason for favouring it over established favourites".

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"Holst' orkesterlyd er hypnotiserende. Det er planeternes væsener, Holst skildrer, og deres indflydelse på mennesker ... Stjerner til Sir Simon Rattle og Berlinerfilharmonikerne".

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"The playing is again needle-sharp in all departments and harp and percussion struck me as particularly impressive. You can sense, I think, the unamity of condutor and orchestra in their long-standing partnership ... If this release would fill a gap for you, don't hesitate".

"Vurdering: G (Gramophone recommends)" - "That 1982 recording cannot compare with the blazing brilliance, warmth and weight of the new one, which fully brings out the glory of the Berlin sound ... The second disc has four works commisioned by Rattle ... Rattle's boldness in offering such unusual couplings is amply justified, even if most purchasers will concentrate on the superb version of a favourite piece".

"So, when all's said and done, I'd be reluctant to rank this new version alongside a host of distinguished recordings from the likes of Boult ... Sargent ... Previn".

"Davis's new performance takes off with "Saturn": this may not match the sense of weariness Boult conveys, but its inexorable progress is highly effective, and the bells for once sound as if they've been hit by something metallic to suitably alarming effect. "Uranus, the Magician" is done with an infectious sense of showmanship, while the miraculous shades and textures of "Neptune" are beautifully caught in the recording".

"The recording catches all his ingenuitites with his large orchestra, together with a range of colours that includes clarity for the short double bassoon solo at the end of "Uranus" (effectively done) and in "Saturn" the bass oboe, a beautiful instrument hardly known outside Holst and Delius".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "The first quality of this performance that strikes one is its liveliness, as revealed in the warmth of the rubato that Jurowski draws from the orchestra ... All told, an excellent version, even if many will regret the short measure of 43 minutes".