I’ve been listening to The Planets by Holst for a long time. I finally got to hear it live on Friday being played by a real orchestra. Went to a concert in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast to hear the Ulster Orchestra perform the whole Planet Suite and several other pieces. I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t as good as my favourite CD version of the suite performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This is not a reflection on the Ulster Orchestra. They were excellent. I just think it’s easier to get into the music without an audience of several hundred people round you.
Well worth the experience to hear it live though. It was broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster and I was able to record it via my Radio Shark and Audio Hijack Pro. So I’ve got it in iTunes and on the iPod which is good. It’s also available via the BBC listen again feature as a RealPlayer stream via this link. This link will only work for about 7 days though.