The Sydney Symphony Orchestra to Release THE PLANETS Recording in Time for Earth Hour, March 28

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra with its Chief Conductor David Robertson has released a new recording of Holst's The Planets on its label Sydney Symphony Live, to coincide with a mass-participation multimedia performance of the work on the evening of Earth Hour, March 28.

In the inaugural "Concert for the Planet", presented by the Global Orchestra Foundation, musicians across the world are invited to play along to the SSO by tuning in to a live web-stream of the Orchestra's performance, conducted by David Robertson at the Sydney Opera House.

Thousands of musicians across the world will come together in the first ever global orchestra, playing along to the live web-stream of The Planets as they are guided by a separate feed of David Robertson -- "the Conductor Cam".

Recorded in 2013/14 in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, The Planets is the second disc on the SSO Live label to feature the Orchestra's Chief Conductor and Artistic Director David Robertson, following the highly popular 2014 release, Stravinsky's The Firebird.

The release of The Planets also sees the SSO become the first orchestra in Australia to release a Pure Audio Blu-ray CD. This new high fidelity audio format offers a deeper and richer listening experience and can be played on any Blu-ray device. The Planets is also available in regular CD format.

Image: Students at Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, in a simulation of the Conductor Cam for the inaugural Concert for the Planet. Credit: Ken Butti (2015).