What might Pluto sound like? Our musical love affair with the cosmos

Our love affair with the planets has influenced many composers, of whom Holst is just one among many.
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Pluto photographed by the New Horizons spacecraft; photo via wellesley.edu

Fans of astronomy who also have a musical bent may have experienced a “what if” moment this week. With NASA’s New Horizons currently thrilling the world with the best ever images of the dwarf planet, it would have been the perfect time to bust out a recording of Gustav Holst’s symphonic suite, The Planets, and propose a toast to Pluto.

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Liam Viney
About the Author
Liam Viney is a pianist based at the University of Queensland, School of Music. He performs regularly in the Viney-Grinberg Piano Duo and White Halo ensemble (a piano quartet). He spent some years in the U.S., studying at Yale and teaching at California Institute of the Arts.