Holst: The Planets
$11.98 – $24.98
Kansas City Symphony
Michael Stern, conductor
Michael Stern and The Kansas City Symphony — Brilliant Performances, Dazzling Sound!
Reference Recordings proudly presents Holst’s best known and beloved works in an outstanding interpretation from Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. This hybrid SACD release was recorded in the beautiful and acoustically acclaimed Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. It was produced by David Frost, six-time winner of the Classical Producer of the Year GRAMMY® award. It was recorded by RR’s engineering team, comprised of GRAMMY®-winning engineer and Technical Director Keith O. Johnson, and multi-GRAMMY® nominated engineer Sean Martin.
The Kansas City Symphony has a vision to transform hearts, minds and its community through the power of symphonic music. Founded in 1982, the Symphony has established itself as a major force in the cultural life of the community. Praised for performances of uncompromising standard, the orchestra is the largest in the region and holds a national reputation under the artistic leadership of Music Director Michael Stern.
This is the seventh in Reference Recordings’ series with Kansas City Symphony. Previous albums are Shakespeare’s Tempest, the Grammy® Award-winning Britten’s Orchestra, an Elgar/Vaughan Williams project, Miraculous Metamorphoses, an all-Saint-Saëns CD featuring the magnificent Organ Symphony, and the music of contemporary American composer Adam Schoenberg (nominated for two Grammy® Awards). Two additional projects, featuring one-movement symphonies by Barber, Scriabin, and Sibelius; and a live recording of works of Johannes Brahms, have been recorded and slated for future release.
Extra notes
Hybrid SACD contains 5.1 and Stereo SACD and CD stereo with HDCD (downloads are Stereo-only)
On This Recording
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Holst: The Planets
- Mars, the Bringer of War (7:41)
- Venus, the Bringer of Peace (8:19)
- Mercury, the Winged Messenger (3:54)
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (8:23)
- Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (9:26)
- Uranus, the Magician (5:52)
- Neptune, the Mystic (7:08) Holst: The Perfect Fool
- Ballet Music from "The Perfect Fool" (10:39)
Reviews:
“There are some fine details to glean from Michael Stern’s new all-Holst disc with his Kansas City Symphony Orchestra (KCSO). The first one is that the ensemble is fantastic: there are no weak instrumental families and the orchestra clearly listens (and matches) across sections. Another is that Reference Recordings is… the label that offers the best recorded sound in recent classical discography. Everything you hear on this disc is cleanly recorded, beautifully balanced, and unfailingly bright.” —Jonathan Blumhofer, ArtsFuse