Holst - The Planets, Op. 32 [Score]

Charles Dutoit, Conductor
Montreal Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Recorded Live, 1986

0:00 Mars, The Bringer of War
7:48 Venus, The Bringer of Peace
17:15 Mercury, The Winged Messenger
21:27 Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity
30:12 Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age
41:03 Uranus, The Magician
47:27 Neptune, The Mystic

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The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its supposed astrological character.

The premiere of The Planets was at the Queen's Hall, London on 29 September 1918, conducted by Holst's friend Adrian Boult before an invited audience of about 250 people. Three concerts at which movements from the suite were played were given in 1919 and early 1920. The first complete performance at a public concert was given at the Queen's Hall on 15 November 1920 by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates.

The innovative nature of Holst's music caused some initial hostility among a minority of critics, but the suite quickly became and has remained popular, influential and widely performed. The composer conducted two recordings of the work, and it has been recorded at least 80 times subsequently by conductors, choirs and orchestras from the UK and internationally.