One day, the British writer and poet Clifford Bax presented a book about our solar system to his friend, the composer Gustav Holst— and we are all the more fortunate for that. What resulted was one of the staple pieces of the orchestral repertoire, a work that, since its première in 1918, has brought countless audiences the world over joy and emotional stimulation.
Listen in as we explore the backstory behind this superb concert work, and then hear the piece in full.
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Gustav Holst The Planets Op. 32; Fawzi Haimor, conducting