The Arts Desk’s Graham Rickson reviews Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s recording of Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool:

“Michael Stern’s Kansas City Symphony version is a blast… An audiophile’s delight as well as a musical treat, Stern gets pretty much everything right. You’ll hear things in this recording that you’ll struggle to discern on starrier versions, the marvel being that nothing feels forced or artificially spotlit. There’s a sepulchral brass chorale a few minutes into “Saturn” that’s sublime here, wonderfully balanced against Holst’s very English walking bass. And what warmth Stern gets from his strings during the few seconds when it’s as if we’re morphing into an Elgarian trio section. Woodwinds are impeccably blended near the start of “Venus”, and there’s a melting violin solo from Noah Geller. What’s not to love? … The coupling is the ballet music from Holst’s opera The Perfect Fool. There’s the same mixture of jauntiness and menace, and some of the best orchestral trombone writing in the repertoire. If you’re not familiar with this music start here: Stern’s players understand Holst’s cheeky sense of humour, and the quiet coda is beautifully handled.”

—Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk

See the full review on TheArtsDesk.com