Berlin Philharmonic

Berlin Philharmonic, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle – Holst: The Planets (2006/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:24:27 minutes | 701 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Warner Classics

Is it chance or serendipity that Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic timed their new recording of Holst’s The Planets to coincide with the current astronomical upheaval? Though Holst learned of the discovery of Pluto four years before he died, it probably did not occur to him to add another movement, especially since the work’s last section, ‘Neptune, the Mystic,’ ends in an other-worldly, ethereal fade-out, enhanced by an off-stage wordless women’s chorus. He would have been surprised by the latest development in Pluto’s status, but undoubtedly pleased that his ultimately incomplete Suite– which had become more popular than he had expected or thought it deserved–had inspired another British composer, Colin Matthews, to write a successful companion piece, ‘Pluto, the Renewer,’ in 2000. Moreover, the Berlin Philharmonic added to Holst’s galaxy by commissioning four composers to write a movement each for a Suite called ‘Asteroids.’ This is its premiere recording.
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