I'm a violin player and I play in my local orchestra. Last week we started rehearsals for the 2006-2007 season. In the first concert, we are playing Gustav Holst's "The Planets." Ever since I first heard "Mars, the Bringer of War" from this suite, I knew John Williams just had to have gotten lots of inspiration from it for the music for Ep. IV, especially the Imperial music from that movie. There's even a snatch of music in there that always makes me think of the Jawas' theme! I can hear occasional similarities to Star Wars music in the other planets too, but Mars definitely has the most similarity. I'd encourage all fans of John Williams's excellent SW score to listen to The Planets. I think you'd really enjoy it!

"Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" is one of my favorite pieces of classical music ever, and I've wanted to play it for years and years, so I'm really excited to finally get the chance. Even though the music is a challenge for me, it's probably the most fun challenge I've ever had in orchestra, both because it feels a little like Star Wars and because I've wanted to play Jupiter for years.

Update 10/8: We had sectionals last week, and the violin professor who led our sectional said, as we practiced Mars, "John Williams obviously borrowed from Holst."