English composers at the beginning of the 20th century seemed uninspired by the huge symphonic tone poems composed by the likes of Richard Strauss in An Alpine Symphony and Ein Heldenleben, or Schoenberg’s Pelléas and Melisande. The arrival of Holst’s The Planets changed that. In the 20th century it quickly ranked with Elgar’s Enigma Variations as one of the few British compositions to capture the imagination of international audiences and conductors such as Karajan, Mehta, Steinberg and Stokowski, as well as what might be called the usual suspects like Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Malcolm Sargent, in both concert performances. 

Although Holst never composed anything remotely like again, he was certainly influenced by orchestral effects in the music of Wagner and Mahler. In the Melbourne Symphony’s recent recording under its Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín, Mars, The Bringer of War is unleashed with full force. The effect is a world of turmoil violence, bloodshed, anger, hatred and destruction, while perhaps secretly savouring the horror of...