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Published: Sunday, 25 August 2024 at 07:48 AM


Say the name of Gustav Holst (1874–1934) and the work that comes to mind is, almost undoubtedly, The Planets. And deservedly so: composed between 1914 and 1917, it’s a sumptuous, always captivating cosmic masterpiece.

But there is more to this composer, who called upon an eclectic range of influences including English folk music, the contemporary European landscape of Stravinsky and Debussy, and even Hindu spiritualism. Not for nothing did Holst feature strongly in our list of the greatest British composers of all time.

The Planets

Composed during World War I, Holst’s spectacular orchestral work The Planets comprises seven movements, each one a depiction of a different planet in the solar system (our home planet, and the as-yet-undiscovered Pluto, miss out). We begin with the alarming fury of ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’ and end with the subtle, faintly dissonant colours of ‘Neptune, the Mystic’.

Via each of these stops on our journey through the solar system, The Planets is a masterful piece of scene painting. A truly cosmic journey, it shows Holst as one of the century’s great orchestrators alongside the likes of Strauss and Ravel.

You can hear The Planets at the 2024 BBC Proms. It’s the highlight of Prom 46 on Sunday 25 August, which also includes works by Sibelius and Lara Poe.

Recommended recording:London Philharmonic Orchestra/Adrian BoultEMI 627 8982