The Planets is Holst's most famous work, and its success is surely deserved.
The musical characterisation is as striking as its originality of conception: the association of 'Saturn' with old age, for instance, is as unexpected as it's perceptive. Bax introduced Holst to astrology, and while he wrote the music he became fascinated with horoscopes, so it's the astrological associations that are paramount, although the linking of 'Mars' (with its enormously powerful 5/4 rhythms) and war also reflects the time of composition. Throughout, the work's invention is as memorable as its vivid orchestration is full of infinite detail. No record- ing can reveal it all but this one comes the closest to doing so. Dutoit's individual performance is in a long line of outstanding recordings.