the Planets vs Peer Gynt

I like them both, but still nothing beats "La Mer" by Claude Debussy 

Debussy is probably my favorite.  One of the parts of Greig's Peer Gynt was stuck in my head since I was a little kid.  I think it was on one of the records that came with this TV like thing that showed a filmstrip and had a turntable on top.  I didn't find out who or what it was until a professor played it in a college history class.   I have a compilation CD of Greig pieces (Greatest Hits) but have not explored his work any further.

The only Holst I know is The Planets, which I really like.  My first encounter with was a synthesizer version of it by an artist whose name I don't remember any more.  I may still have the LP in storage but I think it was in the flooded section.  I thought Tomita did a really nice version despite the corny bits at the beginning and end.

And thanks to ELP, I'm a big fan of Pictures At An Exhibition.  I like the original piano version as well as the orchestrated and ELP's versions.  And Tomita's.


Edited by Slartibartfast - July 30 2010 at 07:21

I love Peer Gynt, the suites alone more than the complete works. It's one of my favorite pieces of classical music.

Many classic works are based on a storyline, just think about all the great Stravinsky ballet's

In classical music recordings, the interpretation can "make or break" a work of music, and one way of doing it works for some, while others have different ways of uniting with a piece of music

i am not all that big a fan of The Planets, but would recommend to anybody the very first recording made -acoustically in 1923, and conducted by the composer

in Peer Gynt, there are two incredibly done recordings of the complete incidental music-one conducted by Sir John Barbirolli and the Halle Orchestra, and the other conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra-both are from the early stereo era, and are wonderfull
             of course, depending upon your taste, there are other good ones out there

Not too knowledgeable about classical music, but I love The Planets.

Slartibartfast wrote: Debussy is probably my favorite.  One of the parts of Greig's Peer Gynt was stuck in my head since I was a little kid.  I think it was on one of the records that came with this TV like thing that showed a filmstrip and had a turntable on top.  I didn't find out who or what it was until a professor played it in a college history class.   I have a compilation CD of Greig pieces (Greatest Hits) but have not explored his work any further. The only Holst I know is The Planets, which I really like.  My first encounter with was a synthesizer version of it by an artist whose name I don't remember any more.  I may still have the LP in storage but I think it was in the flooded section.  I thought Tomita did a really nice version despite the corny bits at the beginning and end. And thanks to ELP, I'm a big fan of Pictures At An Exhibition.  I like the original piano version as well as the orchestrated and ELP's versions.  And Tomita's.

btw it was Ravel (he of the Bolero) who has done the most well known orchestration of Pictures At An Exhibition although there are many including one by Sir George Thomas (founder of the Proms)

Edited by richardh - July 31 2010 at 07:13

aginor wrote: reawake

I wasn't sleeping, I was just resting my eyes.

lucas wrote: Gustav Holst wins for me, especially the Lorin Maazel version.

Edited by The T - October 02 2010 at 17:54