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Holst: The Planets - Mehta

Holst: The Planets - Mehta

Universal (Japan)  UCGD-9038

Stereo Single Layer

Classical - Orchestral


Gustav Holst: The Planets
John Williams: Star Wars Suite

Female Voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Zubin Mehta

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Analogue recording

April 1971, The Planets Suite
December 1977, Star Wars Suite
Comments (1)
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Comment by Kveld-Úlfr - January 22, 2016 (1 of 1)

[Comparison of mine between this Mehta SHM SA-CD and the newly discovered Ozawa SHM SA-CD, roughly copied from the former site www.sa-cd.net forum. This has no review pretension. Ozawa counterpart findable here : Holst: The Planets - Ozawa]

To begin with : the volume. I played this newly discovered Ozawa version just as loud as the Mehta one. It was important to me to set these two on equal terms of listening if I was to compare them, and they are both transferred by the same team on the same format, furthermore recorded not so differently (respectively released in 1977 and 1979) so I was confident I would get approximately similar levels.

Sound wise, both are equally thrilling. They sound pretty much alike, except some audible tape hiss on the Ozawa, deeper low frequencies on the Mehta (timpani rumbling and bass tuba). Please forgive the shortcut, but since you already know the Ozawa one, you already have an idea of how good the Mehta sounds.

- The Mars movement is an easy one to give a smash with, that is obvious. Holst wrote that one to be a terrific opener, and under Ozawa’s baton it shows as much as in the Mehta version, though differently. This Ozawa Mars starts more audible with a lot more presence in the “col legno”, giving a sense of aggression, whereas the Mehta one starts almost inaudible and fades in crescendo to very loud, as something terrible quickly approaching from far away to right here : both have their way of showing declamatory menace. However I have a preference for the Mehta version on the powerful climatic hit in the middle of the movement : this is a mere orchestral hit with Ozawa, and though I was moved by its grandly fatalistic interpretation, I preferred the overwhelming, thundery, godly hammer hit of the timpani (maybe bass drum, not sure) + bass tuba in the Mehta one. Very impressive, devastating.

- The Venus and Mercury movements, I shall say, are not so different from one version to the other. The Ozawa is slightly more moving, only by an inch, as I find Mehta not to be so at ease when it comes to soft passages. But, this calm in the Mehta version also gives these two movements dynamics in regards to the stormy first one, where Ozawa continues with his more dramatic (albeit reserved, maybe too polite) approach.

- Now, the Jupiter movement : that was a jewel to my ears, and here the Mehta version, despite being very moving, cannot better the Ozawa, only by a margin. Both have a glorious, splendid and radiant introduction. The syncopation parts by Mehta are more puckish, but his use of the triangle and glockenspiel is more a punctuation, whereas Ozawa’s a real underlining, which is just as enchanting and exquisite as fairy-ballet music. Lovely ! And then, the rituneto of the “Jupiter Hymn” comes in, showing how Ozawa can master lyricism. Clearly, he wins that one. I could not listen to these beautifully woven silks of strings without a wet eye. Originally I discovered this Holst musical part as a teenager listening to a cover by the Swedish black-metal band Bathory and I instantly fell in love with this melody, so I was eagerly awaiting Ozawa here.

- Saturn : Ozawa builds the rising tension towards inevitability with an almost perverse accuracy and intelligence. Gripping ! I only found it too bad that Ozawa did not choose to punctuate the climatic point tolling tubular bells or chimes as Mehta did, for this use of percussions ingeniously gives depth to it and emphasizes its fatidic character. And his bass tuba support, very impressive in the crescendo, makes the difference. However, Ozawa has more than a trick in his sleeve and restrains himself : he keeps the bell for the end of the movement and has it ringing distantly (it must have been played off-stage), giving a sense of grim departure from life, of force leaving the body, before closing the movement with a divine, celestial-like conclusion.

- Uranus : Ozawa has a measured pace at the beginning of that one. Magic is tangible, its mischievous aspect is beautifully rendered by Ozawa. I was immersed in this magic, and believed it. Mehta just as well understood and honored this obvious part of the movement, for it has no double-meaning. Both conductors have the final march greatly paced by the timpani, however Ozawa’s looks less impressive than Mehta’s, the latter completely walking over the listener.

- Neptune : Ozawa renders it as enigmatic as it should ; misty, mysterious. Both versions have their convincing way on that one, though I have a preference for Ozawa’s divine feminine choir at the conclusion.

For the ones who have this Ozawa, but not the Mehta, my advice is : grab it.

In essence, the Ozawa version has a dramatic flavor. It is very poetic, full of passion, delicately controlled with respect and decency towards the work, and might I say, the conductor has instilled a lot of Japanese sensitivity and elegance in it (personal opinion of course). The Planets is some cinematic work for me and if the Ozawa can be compared to a Ozu masterpiece, retained and subtly blooming, certainly the Mehta looks like a Kurosawa one, with a refinement tending more towards dynamics, impulsion and grandiloquence. Retained is the Ozawa, but don’t get me wrong, it is nothing like Holst: The Planets - Akiyama, rather a correction of it.

Drama vs. action ? No. I would rather say drama WITH action, for I now consider these two versions inseparable, intertwined, intrinsically linked. I do not know whether these two styles, drama and action, can be found together in a single version of the Planets. Besides these two I do not know the Boult one for it has been long OOP, but I do know the Holst: The Planets - Albrecht which is quite original and interesting and well-played.

But one thing is sure as far as I’m concerned : I will now listen to both Ozawa and Mehta one after another, whatever the order.