Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was an English composer, conductor and teacher. As an artist in the Pristine catalogue, he appears conducting his own music, a particularly valuable link to the composer’s own sound-world.

In the Pristine catalogue he conducts The Planets with the London Symphony Orchestra in recordings from 1922 and 1923.

Composer-conducted recordings of this kind are historically precious, even when early recording technology imposes limits. They preserve tempo, emphasis and character from unusually close to the source.

His artist page belongs naturally beside the composer entry. Holst here is not only drawing the planets; he is setting them spinning.