Martucci Collection, Martucci / Semeraro / Braga, CD

An Italian Brahms is an unlikely idea, but it encapsulates a superficial acquaintance with the music of Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909). Any listener curious to take a deeper dive into the richly Romantic melodies and impassioned large-scale structures of Martucci will find no better place to start than this survey of his major works in every instrumental genre. Martucci grew up in Naples as the son of a military bandmaster, and this background seems to have instilled in him a creative impulse to swim against the operatic tide of native composers, and focus his energies on writing instrumental music. CD10 collects Martucci's other songs for soprano, such as the remarkable Pagine sparse of 1888. Other highlights of the set include Martucci's deep investment in chamber music, resulting in piano trios, violin and cello sonatas, and a magnificently brooding Piano Quintet, again in the Brahmsian mould.