Majesty in Motion: Gustav Holst’s “The Planets”

By |2024-02-16T15:06:40-06:00February 16th, 2024|Categories: Gustav Holst, Music, Timeless Essays|Tags: |

Make no bones about: Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” is conservative because of its deep appreciation for the sublime and the beautiful. Better yet, its conservatism can be found in its holistic and ordered approach to human emotions, as well as its unbridled love for mystery and transcendent revelation. Considering that it was influenced by the [...]

“Ode to Death”

By |2023-11-11T06:35:21-06:00November 11th, 2018|Categories: Audio/Video, Death, Gustav Holst, Memorial Day, Music, Veterans Day, War, World War I|

Gustav Holst wrote his "Ode to Death" in 1918-1919 in the wake of World War I. Though he received a medical exemption from military service, Holst had composer-friends who served (Ralph Vaughan Williams) and died (George Butterworth) in the horrific combat on the Western Front. The text of "Ode to Death" sets a section of [...]

Music of War and Remembrance: Ten Classical Pieces

By |2023-05-13T11:53:56-05:00November 11th, 2015|Categories: Antonio Vivaldi, Audio/Video, Gustav Holst, Hector Berlioz, Joseph Haydn, Music, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Stephen M. Klugewicz, War|

Across the centuries, composers have been inspired by the twin dramas of human conflict and the subsequent making of peace. Here are ten great pieces of classical music that dramatize war, celebrate its resolution, and recall its sacrifices. 10. Franz Liszt: The Battle of the Huns One of the composer's many tone poems, Franz Liszt's Hunnenschlacht—written in [...]

Go to Top