The opening Masterworks series at Artis—Naples was a stretch for everyone involved, and after a long summer without music, a good stretch felt exhilarating.

Two of the works were largely unknown — the guitar concerto by Arturo Marquez was even a world premiere — but every moment was engaging, from the galloping pace of Kauyumari to the famous recurring promenade of Modést Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Kauyumari, the Huichol word for blue deer, is Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s homage to the spiritual guide of that people, a mythical animal seen only under the influence of peyote. It is symbolically “hunted” for its soul-healing properties. The work was just completed in 2021 for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and this is the first Florida — if not entire East Coast — performance. There’s an insistent quality about it that rivals the pace of a John Adams work, but Ortiz infuses hers with a supernatural aura.

Exotic instruments included a jingling Egyptian sistrum, guiros, even an animal jawbone equipped with teeth that rattle to tuck in quick musical punctuation. The only thing better than hearing them would perhaps have been to see those instruments in a display somewhere before the concert.

Paired with the solemnity of the lower brass, including bass trombone, they helped Kauyumari in a tough order: to be fleet and grounded at the same time.

The challenge was not lost on Alexander Shelley, conducting his first concert as artistic and music director with the Naples Philharmonic. He had to catch his breath before introducing the Arturo Márquez guitar concerto, Concerto Místico y Pofano. Co-commissioned by Artis—Naples for the Naples Phiharmonic, the concerto is an energizing blend of rhythms and dynamics, swooping in a dance theme to before it settles in to play responses to Pablo Sáinz-Villegas.

Even those who think they don’t know Marquez have heard his work before: Dance bands as well as symphony orchestras love his Danzon No. 2, a command to jump up and hip-wiggle your inner samba out. Marquez has forged a real orchestral partnership, pulling in flutes and cellos for featured moments and taking the violins from their first movement dance, including some percussive moments striking the instrument itself, to a second-movement shimmer of sweet melody. In short, this was money well spent by the Philharmonic.

It was also money well spent to bring in guitar virtuoso Sáinz-Villegas, whose laurels range from Metropolitan Opera Gala invitations to a stadium audience of 85,000 in Madrid. For those not yet convinced, he won the award named for the legendary Andres Segovia at age 15.

This concerto was written for him, and while it is so new he used the score, Villegas played with the dynamics and passion of one who is its best friend. And then he proceeded to lock down the realization that he may be the best guitarist on the planet right now with his sophisticated take on a Spanish harvest song of his native Rioja Province.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition had just met its match.

Pictures was the most immediately obvious example of Shelley’s collaborative theme with The Baker Museum for this season: the art of storytelling. The museum is featuring stories of the Black experience from the Wedge Collection, and an exhibition of Steven Katz’s art depicts his work as designer for the stories told onstage through dance; Shelley’s Masterworks programming is pairing it with stories such as this.

Mussorgsky’s depictions of his late painter friend’s works are actually on their second life. Pictures at an Exhibition was written for the piano, but Maurice Ravel, on commission, set up its rich orchestral interpretation, which may be one of his greatest works, as well. This one opened with a little more legato in the strings than expected, but firmly set the promenade that would open nearly every one of the 11 miniature narratives.

Ravel’s work with the piece is a deep dive into Mussorgsky’s Russian roots, with its bassoon rumblings beneath the alto saxophone in “The Italian Castle” and the imposing bass of the street talk from one of two Russian Jews. It climaxes at “The Great Gate of Kiev” (Kyiv), which was, in this case, never a gate. The art was of a competition painting Mussorgsky’s friend had made for a memorial to Czar Alexander II, who was nearly murdered in the capital of Ukraine. That may not surprise anyone today.

Despite the fact these musicians have likely performed it more times than they can count, this was a spirited performance, with what appeared to be a clear understanding between the musicians and Shelley. We have the continued spirit of the Naples Philharmonic to thank for that as much as Shelley; it has been without a music director for two years, but the members still can rock the house classically.

For any storytelling about this season, the opening Masterworks was a happy first chapter.