The Planets

This recording by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas Collon combines two orchestral visions of the cosmos: "The Planets" by Gustav Holst and "Moonlight on Jupiter" by Finnish composer Väinö Raitio. Holst's suite, composed between 1914 and 1916, is one of the most famous orchestral works of the 20th century. In seven movements it paints musical character portraits of the planets in our solar system and it still impresses today with its colorful orchestration. In contrast to this is Raitio's "Moonlight on Jupiter", a rarely heard work of Finnish modernism from the 1920s. As a representative of the first generation of modernist composers in Finland, Raitio developed an exceptionally advanced musical language for his time. This recording is the first digital recording of the work and the first new recording in more than 50 years. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Northern Europe and is particularly dedicated to the Finnish repertoire. Nicholas Collon, chief conductor of the orchestra since 2021, combines analytical precision with a keen sense of orchestral color.