The orchestral suite The Planets invokes the celestial bodies from an astrological perspective. As a musical plot, it is inspired by the suggestion that they reveal hidden dimensions of human personalities and relationships. When it premiered in 1918 in London, it echoed the question that was challenging science at the time: the use of irrationality to understand existence. The discussion was mainly centred on popular culture. But Gustav Holst brought it to a surprising stage. The immediate success – which continues today – was largely due to an ancestral sympathy we have for reading the cosmos as a projection of knowledge, dating back to Mesopotamian civilisations. Are the planets messengers?
Exploring the Cosmos
Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra
Concert with commentary by Rui Campos Leitão
G. Holst The Planets, Op. 32 (adaptation for classical orchestra by George Morton)
Cláudio Ferreira conductor
