The Planets, op. 32, is an orchestral suite by Holst, written between 1914-16. Each movement is named after a planet on the Solar System, and its corresponding astrological character. With the exception of Earth, all planets known during the work's composition are present. Since its premiere, the suite has been enduringly popular, widely performed and recorded. It was not heard in complete public performance until some years after it was finished: there were incomplete and/or private presentations first. The work was originally scored for a piano duet and an organ for 'Neptune', as the piano felt 'too percussive for a world as mysterious and distant as that planet'. The orchestral incarnation showed the influence of Schoenberg, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. Its novel sonorities helped make the work an immediate success with audiences at home and abroad. Although The Planets remains Holst's most popular work, the composer himself did not count it among his best creations and later in life complained that its popularity had completely surpassed his other works.
