As our understanding of the cosmos expands, so too must performances of The Planets. At least that’s the logic of Sir Simon Rattle with his second recording of this celebrated seven-movement piece (which stops with Neptune). After an energized (and sometimes brawny) traversal of the solar system known to Holst, Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker press on with Colin Matthews’ “Pluto, The Renewer” and a host of contemporary pieces on similar themes—one of the best being Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s grandly alien-sounding “Asteroid 4179 - Toutatis.”
- Boston Pops Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Vienna Philharmonic
- Eugen Jochum & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Bernard Haitink
- London Symphony Orchestra, Nicolai Ghiaurov & Sir Georg Solti
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
- Yoel Levi & The Cleveland Orchestra
- London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, Barry Tuckwell, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Antonio Pappano & Felix Schmidt