# The Planets discography

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.

## Orchestral version

| Year | Conductor | Orchestra and Chorus | Label | Recording notes |
| 1922 | Gustav Holst | London Symphony Orchestra | Columbia | recorded 27 October 1922 (Jupiter only) at Petty France Studios; acoustic recording |
| 1923 | Gustav Holst | London Symphony Orchestra | 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 |
| 1926 | Albert Coates | Symphony Orchestra | His Master's Voice | only Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus; reissued on CD in 1992 on Koch Historic |
| 1942 | Ernest MacMillan | Toronto Symphony Orchestra | RCA Victor | only Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter; released on CD in 2006 by Analekta, on Portrait: Sir Ernest MacMillan |
| 1943 | Leopold Stokowski | NBC Symphony Orchestra | Cala Records | from an NBC radio broadcast in Studio 8H, New York City, the earliest American performance on disc |
| 1945 | Sir Adrian Boult | BBC Symphony Orchestra | His Master's Voice | the first of Boult's five recordings of the work |
| 1954 | Sir Adrian Boult | Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra; Members of the London Philharmonic Choir | Nixa | The orchestra was the London Philharmonic, under a pseudonym for contractual reasons |
| 1954 | Sir Malcolm Sargent | London Symphony Orchestra, Women's Chorus | Decca | Kingsway Hall; engineer Kenneth Wilkinson |
| 1956 | Leopold Stokowski | Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Roger Wagner Chorale | Capitol | 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 | His Master's Voice | reissued on CD on Classics for Pleasure |
| 1959 | Sir Adrian Boult | Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Women of the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor | Westminster |
| 1961 | Herbert von Karajan | 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 | New Philharmonia Orchestra, Women of The Ambrosian Singers | His Master's Voice |
| 1970 | Bernard Haitink | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the John Alldis Choir | Philips | |
| 1970 | Bernard Herrmann | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir | Decca Phase 4 Stereo | |
| 1970 | William Steinberg | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus | Deutsche Grammophon | recorded in Symphony Hall, Boston, in September and October 1970 |
| 1971 | Leonard Bernstein | New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Camerata Singers | Columbia | 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 | Zubin Mehta | Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Female Voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale | Decca | An extra tubist, Tommy Johnson (tubist), was hired during the recording sessions. |
| 1973 | André Previn | London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers | EMI | recorded Sept. 28–29, 1973, in Kingsway Hall, London; engineer Christopher Parker |
| 1974 | George Hurst | Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Municipal Choir | Contour | recorded at Southampton Guildhall; producer Brian Culverhouse, engineer Brian Couzens |
| 1974 | Walter Susskind | Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Arnatt Chorale and Missouri Singers | Turnabout and VOX | recorded in Powell Hall in Sept. 1974; issued in 1975; reissued in 2004 by MFSL as a hybrid multichannel SACD |
| 1975 | James Loughran | 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 | Eugene Ormandy | 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 | Sir Neville Marriner | Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers | Philips | |
| 1978 | Sir Georg Solti | London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir | Decca | Kingsway Hall, Feb. 1978 |
| 1979 | Sir Alexander Gibson | Scottish National Orchestra, Women's Voices of the RSNO Chorus | Chandos | recorded in Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 2–3 July 1979 |
| 1979 | Seiji Ozawa | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus | Philips | recorded in Dec. 1979; reissued in 1992, 2005 and 2010 |
| 1980 | Lorin Maazel | Orchestre National de France, Ladies of the Maîtrise de Radio France | CBS Masterworks | Children's choir used in "Neptune". Digital recording; released in 1981 |
| 1980 | Simon Rattle | Philharmonia Orchestra, Ladies of the Ambrosian Singers | EMI | digital recording; Kingsway Hall, London, 29–30 Dec. 1980 |
| 1981 | Karajan | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the RIAS Chamber Chorus | Deutsche Grammophon | recorded in the Philharmonie, Berlin, in Jan. 1981; digital recording |
| 1986 | Andrew Davis | Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Children's Chorus | His Master's Voice | 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 | John Williams | Boston Pops Orchestra, Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus | Philips | Symphony Hall, Boston |
| 1986 | Charles Dutoit | 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; awarded the 1987 Gramophone Award for Engineering |
| 1987 | Eduardo Mata | Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus | Pro Arte | |
| 1987 | Sir Charles Groves | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Philharmonia Chorus | Sanctuary Classics | recorded in July 1987 in Watford Town Hall |
| 1987 | Richard Hickox | London Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of London Voices | IMP Classics | recorded in Abbey Road Studio 1 on 8–9 July 1987 |
| 1987 | Geoffrey Simon | London Symphony Orchestra, Women of the London Symphony Chorus | Delta Entertainment | recorded at All Saints, Tooting; reissued in 1998 |
| 1988 | William Boughton | Philharmonia Orchestra | Nimbus | recorded in the Royal Albert Hall, London, 11–12 Jan. 1988 |
| 1988 | Adrian Leaper | 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 | Sir Sir Charles Mackerras | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir | Virgin Classics | recorded in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, in June 1988; released on CD 1989 |
| 1989 | James Levine | Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus | Deutsche Grammophon | released in 1991 |
| 1989 | Hilary Davan Wetton | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Collins Classics | |
| 1989 | Sir Colin Davis | 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 | Ross Pople | London Festival Orchestra, Ladies of St. Paul's Cathedral Choir | ASV |
| 1992 | Yevgeny Svetlanov | 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 | Mike Batt | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ladies from the John McCarthy Chorus | Guild | recorded at Watford Town Hall, 25 August 1993; released in 2018 |
| 1993 | Vernon Handley | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Women of the Ambrosian Singers | Tring | recorded Oct. 1993; released 1994 |
| 1993 | Sir Andrew Davis | BBC Symphony Orchestra, Women of the BBC Symphony Chorus | Teldec | recorded at St Augustine's Church, London, in December 1993 |
| 1994 | José Serebrier | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | ASV | |
| 1994 | Sir John Eliot Gardiner | Philharmonia Orchestra; Women's Voices of the Monteverdi Choir | Deutsche Grammophon released in 1995 |
| 1995 | Adrian Leaper | Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria | Arte Nova Classics | live recording 25 January 1995 in the Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria |
| 1996 | Leonard Slatkin | Philharmonia Orchestra, New London Children's Choir | BMG Classics | released in 1997 on CD |
| 1996 | Yan Pascal Tortelier | BBC Philharmonic | BBC Music Magazine | recorded July 13, 1996, in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester |
| 1997 | Roy Goodman | New Queen's Hall Orchestra, Ladies of New Queen's Hall Chorus | Carlton Classics | Historically informed performance |
| 1997 | Yoel Levi | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus | Telarc Digital | recorded at Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, April 3–4, 1997 |
| 1998 | Andrew Litton | Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus | Delos | |
| 1998 | Djong Victorin Yu | Philharmonia Orchestra | Exton / Octavia Records Inc. |
| 2001 | David Lloyd-Jones | 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 | Mark Elder | Hallé Orchestra, Ladies of The Hallé Choir | Hyperion | 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 | Dennis Russell Davies | Bruckner Orchester Linz | Chesky Records | 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 | Sir Roger Norrington | 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 | Paul Freeman | Czech National Symphony Orchestra | CNSO | recorded in the Rudolfinum, Prague, 2002; includes Pluto, the Renewer by Colin Matthews |
| 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 | Owain Arwel Hughes | 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 | Yutaka Sado | NHK Symphony Orchestra | Avex | |
| 2005 | Rico Saccani | 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 | Paavo Järvi | Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Telarc |
| 2009 | Vladimir Jurowski | 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 | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | 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 | David Robertson | Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Ladies of the Sydney Philharmonia Chorus | Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
| 2015 | Michael Francis | NYO Canada | NYO Canada | recorded 1–3 Aug. 2015 in the McGill Multimedia Room, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal |
| 2016 | Edward Gardner | 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 | Daniel Harding | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frauenchor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks | BR Klassik | |
| 2019 | Andrew Litton | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladies of the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor | BIS | |
| 2019 | Michael Stern | 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) |

## Concert Band version

| Year | Conductor | Ensemble | Label | Recording notes |
| 1989 | Eric Banks | London Symphonic Wind Orchestra | EMI Music Japan | Recorded at Abbey Road Studios on 11–12 April 1989. Wind orchestra version of the complete seven-movement suite transcribed by Cy Payne. |
| 1994 | Frederick Fennell | Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra | King Records, Japan | 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 | James Watson | Black Dyke Mills Band | Doyen | Brass band version by Stephen Roberts. |
| 1998 | Eddie Green | University of Houston Wind Ensemble | Mark Custom | Concert band version by Merlin Patterson. |
| 2003 | Commander Yoshiiku Aoki | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band, Tokyo | Universal Music Japan | 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. |

## Two-piano transcription

| Year | Artists | Label | Recording notes |
| 1984 | Richard Markham, David Nettle | Psyche | Two-piano transcription. |
| 1998 | Len Vorster, Robert Chamberlain | Naxos | Two-piano transcription. |
| 2000 | Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow | 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. |

## Other versions

| Year | Primary musicians | Label | Recording notes |
| 1976 | Isao Tomita | RCA | Released in 1976/1991. Free arrangement and abridgement for electronic synthesiser. |
| 1985 | Kevin Peek with Rick Wakeman and Jeff Wayne | | Progressive rock version called Beyond the Planets. |
| 1996 | Peter Sykes | Raven | Version for organ. |
| 2009 | Hugh Banton | 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. |