Gustav Holst’s youthful enthusiasm for Wagner is reflected in his ebullient
Walt Whitman overture written in 1899. Shortly afterwards he composed
the Cotswolds Symphony which embraces hints of contemporary British
folk music but is dominated by the slow movement, a profound elegy
for the utopian socialist William Morris. Though completed at college, A
Winter Idyll shows real orchestral assurance. Indra is an accomplished
tone poem revealing Holst’s interest in the legends of India, whilst the
glittering and evocative Japanese Suite was written in response to a
request from a Japanese dancer appearing in London.

Interest in Holst’s music continues to grow, and in particular in more outof-
the-way material. British music specialists are particularly drawn to
him. This disc offers youthful and mid-period Holst.

The Ulster Orchestra is one of Northern Ireland’s cultural cornerstones
and since its foundation in 1966 has become one of the major symphony
orchestras in the United Kingdom and Ireland. JoAnn Falletta was
appointed Principal Conductor in May 2011, the orchestra’s twelfth but
first female and first American to be appointed to the post