This is a discography of commercial recordings of The Planets, Op. 32, an orchestral suite by Gustav Holst, composed between 1914 and 1916, and first performed by the Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult on 29 September 1918. It includes the composer's own recordings made in 1922–1923 and 1926. The chorus is identified where information is available.
| Year | Conductor | Orchestra and Chorus | Label | Recording notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Gustav Holst | recorded 27 October 1922 (Jupiter only) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording[1] | |||
| 1923 | Gustav Holst | LondonSymphonyOrchestra | Columbia | recorded 23 August (Mercury, Venus), 24 August (Uranus), 30 October (Mars, Saturn), 6 November (Neptune) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording | |
| 1925 | Gustav Holst | London Symphony Orchestra | Columbia | recorded 19 February (Saturn), 15 September (Jupiter) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording | |
| 1926 | Gustav Holst | Women of the London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra | Columbia | recorded complete on 22 June, 2 July, 14 Sept. and 22 Oct. at Petty France Studios; electrical recording; released in Dec. 1926; re-issued on LP in 1972, on CD from 1991 onwards[2] | |
| 1926 | Symphony Orchestra | only Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus; reissued on CD in 1992 on Koch Historic | |||
| 1942 | only Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter; released on CD in 2006 by Analekta, on Portrait: Sir Ernest MacMillan | ||||
| 1943 | Cala Records | from an NBC radio broadcast in Studio 8H, New York City, the earliest American performance on disc | |||
| 1945 | HMV | the first of Boult's five recordings of the work | |||
| 1954 | Sir Adrian Boult | Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra; Members of the London Philharmonic Choir | The orchestra was the London Philharmonic, under a pseudonym for contractual reasons | ||
| 1954 | London Symphony Orchestra, Women's Chorus | Kingsway Hall; engineer Kenneth Wilkinson | |||
| 1956 | Leopold Stokowski | the work's first stereo recording; issued on LP; reissued on CD by EMI | |||
| 1958 | Sir Malcolm Sargent | BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Women's Chorus | HMV | reissued on CD on Classics for Pleasure | |
| 1959 | Sir Adrian Boult | Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Women of the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor | Westminster | ||
| 1961 | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Vienna State Opera Chorus | Decca | remastered and reissued in 2007 in 24-bit, 96-kbps sound | ||
| 1965 | Sir Malcolm Sargent | BBC Symphony Orchestra | IMP | Royal Festival Hall, London, February 3, 1965; issued on IMP CD in 1995 | |
| 1966 | Sir Adrian Boult | HMV | |||
| 1970 | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the John Alldis Choir | ||||
| 1970 | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir | Decca Phase 4 Stereo | |||
| 1970 | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus | recorded in Symphony Hall, Boston, in September and October 1970 | |||
| 1971 | New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Camerata Singers | recorded in Philharmonic Hall in early December 1971; released on LP in 1973; reissued on CD in 1985 and 1997; music was subject of Bernstein's final Young People's Concerts broadcast in March 1972 | |||
| 1971 | Decca | An extra tubist, Tommy Johnson (tubist), was hired during the recording sessions. | |||
| 1973 | London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers | recorded Sept. 28–29, 1973, in Kingsway Hall, London; engineer Christopher Parker | |||
| 1974 | Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Municipal Choir | Contour | recorded at Southampton Guildhall; producer Brian Culverhouse, engineer Brian Couzens | ||
| 1974 | Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Arnatt Chorale and Missouri Singers | recorded in Powell Hall in Sept. 1974; issued in 1975; reissued in 2004 by MFSL as a hybrid multichannel SACD | |||
| 1975 | Hallé Orchestra, Hallé Ladies Chorus | CfP/EMI | won a Gold Disc; in Dec. 2009 came 8th in BBC's Top 30 Most Played classical recordings over three-quarters of a century | ||
| 1975 | The Philadelphia Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia | RCA Red Seal | reissued in 1993 | ||
| 1978 | Sir Adrian Boult | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir | EMI | Boult's fifth and final studio recording, recorded May 12 and 30, June 4 and July 31, 1978, in Kingsway Hall and at Abbey Road, 60 years after he led the work's premiere; released for Boult's 90th birthday | |
| 1978 | Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers | Philips | |||
| 1978 | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir | Decca | Kingsway Hall, Feb. 1978 | ||
| 1979 | Scottish National Orchestra, Women's Voices of the RSNO Chorus | Chandos | recorded in Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 2–3 July 1979 | ||
| 1979 | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus | Philips | recorded in Dec. 1979; reissued in 1992, 2005 and 2010 | ||
| 1980 | CBS Masterworks | Children's choir used in "Neptune". Digital recording; released in 1981 | |||
| 1980 | EMI | digital recording; Kingsway Hall, London, 29–30 Dec. 1980 | |||
| 1981 | Karajan | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the RIAS Chamber Chorus | recorded in the Philharmonie, Berlin, in Jan. 1981; digital recording | ||
| 1986 | Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Children's Chorus | HMV | recorded in The Centre in The Square, Kitchener, Ontario, on 20 Jan. 1986 | ||
| 1986 | André Previn | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Brighton Festival Chorus | Telarc Digital | Watford Town Hall, London, 14–15 April 1986 | |
| 1986 | Boston Pops Orchestra, Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus | Philips | Symphony Hall, Boston | ||
| 1986 | Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Chorus | Decca / Penguin Classics | recorded by Decca; reissued in 1998 by Penguin Classics; used for a multi-disciplinary (skating, ballet/dance, music) version;[3] awarded the 1987 Gramophone Award for Engineering http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0150862.html | ||
| 1987 | Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus | Pro Arte | |||
| 1987 | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Philharmonia Chorus | Sanctuary Classics | recorded in July 1987 in Watford Town Hall | ||
| 1987 | London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of London Voices | IMP Classics | recorded in Abbey Road Studio 1 on 8–9 July 1987 | ||
| 1987 | London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the London Symphony Chorus | Delta Entertainment | recorded at All Saints, Tooting; reissued in 1998 | ||
| 1988 | Philharmonia Orchestra | Nimbus | recorded in the Royal Albert Hall, London, 11–12 Jan. 1988 | ||
| 1988 | Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Slovak Radio Symphony Chorus | Naxos | recorded 26–30 Nov. 1988 in Bratislava; released in 1989, including Holst's Suite de Ballet, Op. 10 | ||
| 1988 | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir | recorded in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, in June 1988; released on CD 1989 | |||
| 1989 | Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus | Deutsche Grammophon | released in 1991 | ||
| 1989 | Hilary Davan Wetton | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Collins Classics | ||
| 1989 | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Frauenchor des Rundfunkchores Berlin | Philips | |||
| 1990 | Zubin Mehta | New York Philharmonic, Women of the New York Choral Artists | Teldec | ||
| 1991 | James Judd | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of King's College Choir, Cambridge | Denon | recorded in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, on 1–2 Dec. 1991; released on CD 1992. Boys' choir used in "Neptune". | |
| 1992 | London Festival Orchestra, Ladies of St. Paul's Cathedral Choir | ASV | |||
| 1992 | Philharmonia Orchestra, Women's Voices of The Sixteen | Collins Classics | reissued 1995 by Edgestone Classics (EC029); Svetlanov website indicates another recording by him with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra | ||
| 1993 | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ladies from the John McCarthy Chorus | Guild | recorded at Watford Town Hall, 25 August 1993; released in 2018 | ||
| 1993 | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers | Tring | recorded Oct. 1993; released 1994 | ||
| 1993 | Sir Andrew Davis | Teldec | recorded at St Augustine's Church, London, in December 1993 | ||
| 1994 | ASV | ||||
| 1994 | Philharmonia Orchestra; Women's Voices of the Monteverdi Choir | Deutsche Grammophon released in 1995 | |||
| 1995 | Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria | Arte Nova Classics | live recording 25 January 1995 in the Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | ||
| 1996 | Philharmonia Orchestra, New London Children's Choir | BMG Classics | released in 1997 on CD | ||
| 1996 | recorded July 13, 1996, in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester | ||||
| 1997 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra, Ladies of New Queen's Hall Chorus | Carlton Classics | Historically informed performance | ||
| 1997 | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus | Telarc Digital | recorded at Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, April 3–4, 1997 | ||
| 1998 | Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus | Delos | |||
| 1998 | Philharmonia Orchestra | Exton / Octavia Records Inc. | |||
| 2001 | Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ladies of RSNO Chorus | Naxos | recorded February 17–18, 2001, in Glasgow; released in 2002 on CD; issued also on DVD in 5.1 surround sound (Dolby+DTS); includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews as well as Holst's The Mystic Trumpeter | ||
| 2001 | Hallé Orchestra, Ladies of The Hallé Choir | recorded in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, on 27–28 March 2001; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews (commissioned by the Hallé Concerts Society and first performed by the Hallé under Kent Nagano in 2000); also includes the original and modified-ending versions of Neptune | |||
| 2002 | recorded October 2–4, 2001, in the Brucknerhaus, Linz, Austria; released on SACD in 2002 and later as a digital download on Chesky's HDtracks site | ||||
| 2002 | Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the SWR Vokalensemble and the Staatsopernchor Stuttgart | Hänssler | live recording made in the Liederhalle, Stuttgart, 27–29 June 2001 | ||
| 2002 | Czech National Symphony Orchestra | CNSO | recorded in the Rudolfinum, Prague, 2002; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews[4] | ||
| 2003 | Sir Colin Davis | London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus | LSO Live | live recording for the orchestra's own label in 2003 | |
| 2004 | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of The Cambridge Singers | Warner Classics | recorded 26–27 April 2004 at Watford Colosseum; released on CD 2005; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews | ||
| 2005 | Avex | ||||
| 2005 | Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Chorus of the Hungarian State Opera House | BPO Live | |||
| 2006 | Sir Simon Rattle | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Rundfunkchor Berlin | EMI | includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews | |
| 2009 | Telarc | ||||
| 2009 | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir | LPO | recorded live in the Royal Festival Hall on 22 May 2009; released on CD in 2010 | ||
| 2011 | Sir Andrew Davis | BBC Philharmonic, Women of the Manchester Chamber Choir | Chandos | ||
| 2012 | BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Symphony Chorus | ica classics | First commercial issue of live 1980 performance at the Royal Festival Hall, London | ||
| 2014 | Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the Sydney Philharmonia Chorus | Sydney Symphony Orchestra | |||
| 2015 | NYO Canada | recorded 1–3 Aug. 2015 in the McGill Multimedia Room, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal | |||
| 2016 | National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, CBSO Youth Chorus | Chandos | recorded 8–9 Aug. 2016 in Symphony Hall, Birmingham; released on CD in Feb. 2017 | ||
| 2016 | Marko Munih | Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Ladies of the RTV Chamber Choir | Pentagon Classics | ||
| 2019 | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frauenchor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks | BR Klassik | |||
| 2019 | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor | BIS | |||
| 2019 | Kansas City Symphony, Women of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus | Reference Recordings | |||
| 2023 | Sir Adrian Boult | BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the BBC Singers and the London Choral Society | ica classics | Live recording from the 1973 Proms, Prom 47, 7 September 1973 (previously issued by BBC Music Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 10, July 2013) |
| Year | Conductor | Ensemble | Label | Recording notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Eric Banks | London Symphonic Wind Orchestra | Recorded at Abbey Road Studios on 11–12 April 1989. Wind orchestra version of the complete seven-movement suite transcribed by Cy Payne. | ||
| 1994 | Recorded at Iruma Shimin Kaikan Hall (Saitama, Japan) on 3–4 Nov. 1994. Released in 1995. Concert band version by Takuzo Inagaki. | ||||
| 1994 | Daniel Sieber | « Belalp » Jubilee Wind Orchestra | Tonstudio AMOS | Recorded at Zentrum Missione, Naters on 26–27 Nov. 1994. Concert band version by Pierre-Alain Bidaud, Jean-Pierre Hartmann and Daniel Sieber. | |
| 1996 | Doyen | Brass band version by Stephen Roberts. | |||
| 1998 | Eddie Green | Concert band version by Merlin Patterson. | |||
| 2003 | Commander Yoshiiku Aoki | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band, Tokyo | Live recording at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall on 3 February 2003. Concert band version by Tatsuya Konishi. | ||
| 2005 | Ton van de Kieft | Noordenwind | Molenaar Edition | Live recording at Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam on 1 July 2005. Concert band version by Geert Schrijvers. |
| Year | Artists | Label | Recording notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Richard Markham, David Nettle | Psyche | Two-piano transcription. |
| 1998 | Len Vorster, Robert Chamberlain | Naxos | Two-piano transcription. |
| 2000 | Olympia | Two-piano transcription. | |
| 2001 | York2 (John York, Fiona York) | Black Box | One piano, four hands transcription. Reissued 2011 on Nimbus Records. |
| 2004 | Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Susan Bradshaw | Delos | Two-piano transcription. |
| 2012 | Anthony Goldstone, Caroline Clemmow | Diversions | Two-piano transcription. |
| 2015 | ZOFO (Eva-Maria Zimmermann, Keisuke Nakagoshi) | SONO Luminus | One-piano, four-hands transcription. |
| Year | Primary musicians | Label | Recording notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | RCA | Released in 1976/1991. Free arrangement and abridgement for electronic synthesiser. | ||
| 1985 | Progressive rock version called Beyond the Planets. | |||
| 1996 | Peter Sykes | Raven | Version for organ. | |
| 2009 | Fie | Organ transcription. | ||
| 2010 | Buzz Ensemble | Fidelio | Version for brass and organ. | |
| 2010 | Stefan Moser | H and M | Version for organ. | |
| 2020 | Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra | OA2 Records | Big Band version called The Planets: Reimagined. |