Music Album Review: ‘Holst: The Planets’

Holst – The Planets: Chicago Symphony Orchestra/James Levine

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Released: 1991

Genre: Classical/Symphonic

Review: Holst’s The Planets – A Celestial Tapestry in Seven Movements

Two years before Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status (not that Pluto minds, I suspect), I wrote an earlier version of this reflection on Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Op. 32—a seven-movement symphonic poem that evokes the mythic personalities of our solar system’s celestial neighbors. Had Pluto been discovered during Holst’s compositional period in the early 20th century, perhaps we’d have an eighth movement—something spectral, maybe titled The Guardian of the Dead. But Pluto didn’t make its astronomical debut until 1930, twelve years after the work’s first rehearsal. No matter. The absence of one planet doesn’t diminish the breathtaking scope of Holst’s vision.

Holst wasn’t interested in planetary geology or astrophysical data—Voyager and Viking were still decades away from sending back images of alien worlds. Instead, he approached the planets as astral archetypes, each movement a musical mood piece with evocative titles like Mars, the Bringer of War or Venus, the Bringer of Peace. These are not variations on a theme but distinct emotional landscapes, each orbiting its own sonic gravity.

James Levine, best known for his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera, conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in this 1991 Deutsche Grammophon recording—a mystical tour through Holst’s imagined cosmos. The journey begins with Mars, a belligerent allegro that opens in tension and brooding unease before erupting into martial rhythms. It’s strikingly modern, almost cinematic, as though Holst had scored a silent epic about the Great War. The movement’s militaristic pulse even anticipates John Williams’ The Imperial Attack from Star Wars: A New Hope. Play the final minute of Mars, then cue up Williams’ track—you’ll hear the kinship.

In contrast, Venus offers a balm. Its gentle strings and restrained textures evoke serenity, a celestial hush that feels like the quiet aftermath of conflict. It’s a movement of reflection, not resolution.

My personal favorite is Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity. Its buoyant introduction and jubilant motifs build toward a “hope and glory” theme that radiates grandeur—music fit for a coronation or royal procession. Holst layers tempos and thematic variations with masterful pacing, culminating in a triumphant orchestral climax. South Florida listeners might recall the opening bars of Jupiter as the musical signature of WTMI 93.1 FM’s news updates—a nostalgic echo of mornings past.

Levine and the Chicago Symphony deliver a performance that captures the multifaceted brilliance of Holst’s score. This recording is more than a musical experience—it’s an aural Grand Tour of the heavens, where myth and mood eclipse astronomy, and each movement becomes a planet of feeling.

Track Listing

1	The Planets, Op. 32: Mars, the Bringer of War
2	The Planets, Op. 32: Venus, the Bringer of Peace
3	The Planets, Op. 32: Mercury, the Winged Messenger
4	The Planets, Op. 32: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
5	The Planets, Op. 32: Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
6	The Planets, Op. 32: Uranus, the Magician
7	The Planets, Op. 32: Neptune, the Mystic