Slowly but surely Giuseppe Martucci's orchestral music is making headway on CD. In 2007 Brilliant Classics reissued ASV's complete cycle, while my colleague Victor Carr Jr enthused over Symphonies 1 and 2 played by Kees Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic on BIS, and described the music succinctly and vividly. Naxos now enters the field with the first volume in a projected survey of the orchestral works.

On the plus side, Francesco La Vecchia elicits more incisive string playing and more penetrating woodwind articulation in the neo-Wagnerian First symphony than Bakels, aided by Naxos' rich, dazzlingly detailed engineering. On the minus side, the Rome musicians do not quite match their Malaysian colleagues' impeccable intonation and seamless ensemble blend. However, the shorter works delight without qualification.

The Andante Op. 69 No. 2 clocks in nearly three minutes faster than the weightier Francesco D'Avalos/Philharmonia Orchestra recording, and benefits from cellist Andrea Noferini's warm tone and fluid phrasing. By contrast, La Vecchia takes two minutes more than D'Avalos over the Op. 70 No. 1 Notturno, yet generates plenty of sustaining power and chamber-like textural diversity. A fine start to a promising cycle, warmly recommended. [4/13/2009]

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com