Audiophile Audition gives five stars to Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool!

“The soundstage is magnificent—very wide, and perhaps the deepest recording I have ever heard.…  I felt as though I was really hearing the orchestra in its natural estate, and when the oboe solos, it sounds as if it is more distant in the ensemble. Time and time again, the distance factor figured into the listening experience in a very positive and often surprising manner. Percussion wasn’t suddenly launched into my ears like an explosion but had a natural ascent and decay. If you couple this with a genuinely new and different interpretation, then the recording becomes notable. … There is a broadness, a spacious unveiling of this music that seems to emphasize the lyricism and color of the music as opposed to pure bombast. … And what is most striking is the way Michael Stern brings out differing aspects of the orchestra in a way that you hear things you probably haven’t noticed before, some quite startling. The Perfect Fool is a fine filler… delightful and not overly-long, making for a pleasant repast after our journey through outer space.”

—Steven Ritter, Audipohile Audition

See the full review on AudAud.com

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