The English composer Gustav Holst was one of a kind. A mystic philosopher as well as a consummate musician, he wrote his orchestral suite The Planets as a musical evocation of the personalities associated with the mythological namesakes of the seven known planets besides Earth when the suite was premiered in 1920 (Pluto had yet to be discovered). From the terrifyingly martial "Mars" through the ethereal and mysterious "Neptune," the mix of quasi-impressionistic tone painting and English pastoralism is perfectly captured by Charles Dutoit and his refined French-Canadians in a superb recording.
- Berlin Philharmonic & Hans Rosbaud
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
- John Eliot Gardiner & Philharmonia Orchestra
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Vladimir Ashkenazy
- Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic
- Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra & Pierre Monteux
- Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Sir Neville Marriner