Holst: The Planets – Bax: Tintagel

For Sir Antonio Pappano, there can be nothing routine about performing and recording Holst’s large-scale orchestral suite. “Conducting The Planets, especially with an orchestra like the LSO, is like riding a powerful current,” he tells Apple Music Classical. “You feel both the exhilaration and the responsibility of steering something immense and deeply expressive.” The London Symphony Orchestra would appear an obvious choice of ensemble for The Planets—after all, it was the LSO that gave the first complete public performance of Holst’s work in 1920. Yet, under Pappano’s direction, the LSO gives a fresh interpretation in which every detail has been carefully reconsidered: the articulation at the start of “Mars” may surprise some listeners, but it is exactly what is written in the score. The colours of Holst’s masterful scoring shine bright thanks to Pappano’s close attention to instrumental balance and the LSO’s evident responsiveness. Likewise, Holst’s daring harmonies, whether the grating dissonances of “Mars” or the unearthly suggestion of space in “Neptune”, seem newly revealed. In the midst of all this is the earthy and comforting humanity of “Jupiter”. “In many ways, ‘Jupiter’ is the emotional pinnacle of the entire work,” says Pappano; “After the shadow and menace of ‘Mars’ and the playfulness of ‘Venus’ and ‘Mercury’, ‘Jupiter’ feels like a great opening of the skies. Holst calls it the ‘Bringer of Jollity’, and it’s the moment where the suite breathes, smiles, and suddenly speaks to us in very human terms.” That movement, Pappano insists, is as good as any in revealing Holst’s multi-layered, subtle and astonishing craftsmanship. “Holst takes great care over the outer sections,” he explains, “with those leaping figures passed around the orchestra. Yes, there is brilliance and swagger, but listen carefully to how Holst pivots from dancing rhythms to that extraordinary central melody—broad, dignified, and profoundly moving. The brass writing is magnificent, of course, but it’s the dialogue between sections that really sparks for me: strings urging things forward, woodwinds flickering with wit, percussion adding lift rather than weight.” Pappano and the LSO’s ability to bring the colours of a masterful orchestrator to full vibrancy is to the fore again in Arnold Bax’s Tintagel. Their performance opens with a panoramic sense of the vivid blues of the Cornish seascape so meticulously evoked by Bax’s score. This is then superbly contrasted with the brooding menace and fury of the storm episode, where Bax’s detailed instrumentation really glitters in their magnificent recording.