Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Concert Report

On Saturday, February 24, 2018 I attended the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concert at the Robinson Performance Hall in Little Rock, Arkansas. The performance was at 7:30, and the orchestra was conducted by Philip Mann. The orchestra performed John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets. This report will only be over The Planets.

Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham, England on September 21, 1874, and died in London, England on May 25, 1934. Holst composed towards the end of the romantic period, but was more well known as a 20th-century composer. Holst’s composed several popular pieces including First Suite in E-Flat, Second Suite in F, The Hymn of Jesus, St. Paul’s Suite,

As the name suggests, this movement is a soothing contrast to the previous movement. The movement is very lightly scored, which also contrasts the previous movement. A monophonic horn solo begins the movement, followed later by a beautiful violin solo and oboe solo that follow more of a homophonic texture. An unusual thing about this movement is the usage of the Celesta, which was still a relatively new instrument when The Planets was written. The celesta give Venus that unique twinkle sound. The performers did an outstanding job displaying the contrast of the first two movements, and Dr. Anthony especially did a wonderful job playing the

This movement is undoubtedly the most recognizable in the entire suite, and arguably the most famous piece Holst wrote. This movement is broken down into four distinguishable sections. The first section is a flurry of strings and horns. Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet in the solar system, and Holst symbolized this by having the strings play a three note pattern repeatedly. Holst also used two sets of timpani, which allows the timpani to play the entire melody alongside the horns. The second section of this movement turns more melodic and homophonic. This section almost has a march-like accompaniment in the lower voices. The third section takes a totally different turn and even changes time signatures, which quickly leads into the most melodic final section. This section is the most recognizable in the movement and is full of flowing strings and pizzicato-like bass voices playing down beats. The orchestra was obviously most familiar with this tune, and did a wonderful job of expressing the musicianship Holst wrote