Holst: The Planets / R. Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Steinberg's tenure at the helm of the Boston Symphony was cut short by illness, but his relatively slim catalogue of recordings with the orchestra produced several important examples of his art, boasting truly fine interpretations and spectacular playing. These orchestral showpieces by Strauss and Holst were long overdue for reissue. Steinberg's fast tempos make the Strauss work zip by; it's as if he takes it in one big gulp, creating as exciting a performance as you're likely to hear. The Holst also gets the "let's keep it moving" treatment to good effect, though a more measured pace for the opening movement, "Mars," would bring a greater sense of menace. As on many DGs recorded around 1970-1971, the engineering is bright and bass-shy, but it's clear and detailed, too. --Dan Davis
Customer Reviews
Depth and power
I have a few recordings of The PLanets. This one is the best I have heard. It has a broad range of emotion and I especially enjoy the powerful moments.
Go-for-broke, lurid, and highly effective
Besides their pop associations with outer space, The Planets and Also Sprach Zarathustra have escaped the orbit of classical music to become hits with crossover listeners. The other reviews here seem to emanate from fanboys -- at least that might account for the supercharged enthusiasm over Steinberg's preformances. I lived through the dismal Leinsdorf era into the abbreviated Steinberg one. He was hired to rebuild a demoralized group of musicians. I don't think the job was fully completed. The BSO sounds reckless and blatant in both performances, pouring out loud, coarse sounds that became mroe refined udner Ozawa when he arrived (leaving aside his other, less happy influences on the orchestra).
The main attraction may well be DG's marvelous sonics, which really are of demonstration quality. The visceral impact of a large orchestra in full cry is captured in exciting fashion. But Steinberg bulls his way through The Planets, ignoring opportunities for nuance. The two best movements are the terrifying Mars and seductive Venus, but by the time we arrive at Jupiter, Steinberg's go-for-broke approach is yielding short-term rewards. The same is true of Zarathustra. Where other conductors try to find gold among the dross, Steinberg is blatant and coarse, in no way equalling Karajan, Kempe, Tennstedt, and Reiner, all of whom lead performances full of genuine feeling, not mere flash.
I can't hope to win any approval for these views of a CD that fans root for as avidly as they do the Red Sox, but perhaps a few newcomers will learn what they're actually in for.
This Recording Gets "The Planets" Close to Right
Steinberg's readily available recording is the one to buy now. The only other modern Planets recording to get it close to right is that led by Roy Goodman with the New Queen's Hall Orchestra (Carlton Classics 30366 00432), which uses orchestral instruments of the same type in use in the 1920s, and where the conductor deliberately sets out to mirror Holst's own 1920s recordings. Sadly, this Carlton CD is evidently no longer available; maybe it will be back again someday. Those who think Steinberg's Mars is too fast should know that both of the recordings Holst conducted himself (1923, 1926) are at a nearly matching fast tempo (Holst is slightly faster). In addition, Holst marked a reduced score of Mars for two pianos in his own hand with the metronome indication "quarter note = 176," which is close to the tempo he, Goodman, and Steinberg use. "Fast" is clearly the tempo Holst wanted; it is right. Far too many people have become accustomed to hearing it wrong thanks to the ostensibly "official" versions of Boult and his followers. Boult takes nearly eight excruciating minutes to slog through his last (1979) Mars recording. The same argument holds for another frequently abused movement, Saturn, where some conductors approach an agonizing ten minutes, instead of the correct seven minutes or so, thus completely missing the "Funeral March" character of the movement (Steinberg is a touch slow here at 7:45, but still well within reason). All conductors should be required by law to listen to Holst's 1926 recording, once available on CD (Legacy 3-7018-2 H1), before being allowed to conduct The Planets. The abused critical catchword "definitive" actually applies to Holst's work here, in one of the greatest recordings ever made. Holst's own Jupiter is electrifying, the "big tune" a part of the jovial celebration, not the sentimental patriotic hymn it is so often made out to be. To sum up, Steinberg is the best available right now: very slightly slow here and there, but brilliantly played by a great orchestra, and as close to right as any you can buy at this moment. If you love the piece and want more, get Holst's and Goodman's recordings if you can somehow find them, but if you can't, or only want one, be happy to have Steinberg.
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