Heitor Villa-Lobos’s first two symphonies take the European tradition head-on, absorbing French models prevalent in Brazil in the early 20th century. The confident swagger of the First Symphony is characteristic of Villa-Lobos’s ‘Brazilianness’, while the cyclical Second Symphony filters myriad influences including the music of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy and Puccini. Its slow movement 7 heralds the affecting melodic content that would later become the trademark of the Bachianas Brasileiras [Naxos 8.557460-72]. This is the sixth and final volume of an acclaimed complete edition of Villa-Lobos’s symphonies in which ‘Karabtchevsky leads the way’ (Gramophone).