Holst The Planets: An HD Odyssey

Gustav Holst, a keen student of astrology, seized on the different characters assigned to our planets to compose his masterpiece. Each planet brings different feelings and startling effects, from Mars’ shattering depiction of war to Neptune as it drifts away into space and ethereal voices fade into silence. Breathtaking high-definition imagery from NASA showcases our solar system’s heavenly bodies. Xian Zhang makes a welcome return to conduct, and inspirational soloist Steven Banks makes his Seattle Symphony debut in Diaspora — a saxophone concerto written for him by American composer Billy Childs, in which the past, present and future of the Black experience serve as inspiration.