Let’s begin with the main point: this set of performances is a knockout.

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) relocated to the United States during the Second World War. Already in his 50s, he had a secure reputation as a composer but had never attempted a symphony. His First, in 1942, was commissioned by Serge Koussevitsky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the following five appeared one per year after that. The run of annual symphonies was interrupted in 1946, when the composer fell from a balcony and suffered a fractured skull. No. 6 was again composed for Boston, this time with conductor Charles Munch, in 1951–53. Martinů became an American citizen in 1952 but spent his final years in Switzerland.

The first five symphonies employ a regular four-movement form in Nos. 1, 2, and 4, and three movements in Nos. 3 and 5. They all contain Martinů’s fingerprints: chugging rhythms, often syncopated; soaring violin lines, frequently doubled at the third or sixth, rich brass chording, and percussive accents. Symphonies 2 and 4 are lighter in spirit, while the Third and particularly Fifth...