Holst: The Planets

Cambridge Music Handbooks

by Richard Greene

This book is the first comprehensive guide to Holst's orchestral suite The Planets. It considers the music in detail and places the work in its historical context, describing the circumstances of its composition and its meteoric rise to popular acclaim. Starting with Holst's particular interest in astrology, Greene reveals a profound statement of human character and Holst's own psychological journey toward the mystical state. Using parallels in the verbal and visual arts, Greene weaves here a fascinating tale of musical communication.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 1995

About the author

Dr. Greene is a classical guitarist, composer and analytical musicologist. He received his Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance degree from Loyola University in 1970, a Master of Fine Arts in Guitar Performance degree from Tulane University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Analytical Musicology from the University of Leeds in 1992. Dr. Greene teaches courses in music history and literature, music theory, classical guitar and interdisciplinary studies.

He is one of the world's leading authorities on the music of the English composer Gustav Holst, whose composition, "Jupiter" (from "The Planets") is a favourite of most bands and orchestras. Dr. Greene's books on Holst and music analysis are published world-wide.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the Cambridge Music Handbooks series put out by Cambridge University Press (they do seem to be behind most of the music books series I really like), which are short books on a single piece from the standard western classical repertoire. Although brief, this book was packed with illuminating information. Greene covers the background on the piece - the circumstances under which it was written, Holst's inspiration, etc. - as well as the musical design and features of both the individual movements and the suite as a whole. Greene also hits the sweet spot in his harmonic and thematic analyses, neither too simplistic and vague nor too technical and granular.