The Planets dedication notwithstanding, Imogen Holst "would have been both amused and dismayed by the venture." On 24 August 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what it means to be a "planet" within the Solar System. This definition excluded Pluto as a planet and added it as a member of the new category of "dwarf planets", along with Eris and Ceres. Following the IAU decision, Kenyon D. Wilson composed a trombone quintet piece titled "Songs of Distant Earth". The title comes from Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name. The composition contains five movements, each named after one of the
Gustav Holst he and other younger English composers had adopted Holst's economy of style: "With what enthusiasm did we pare down our music to the very bone". Short cites other English composers who are in debt to Holst, in particular William Walton and Benjamin Britten, and suggests that Holst's influence may have been felt further afield. Above all, Short recognises Holst as a composer for the people, who believed it was a composer's duty to provide music for practical purposes—festivals, celebrations, ceremonies, Christmas carols or simple hymn tunes. Thus, says Short, "many people who may never have heard any of [Holst's] major