Not everyone will take to Daniel Harding’s mostly leisurely, studied approach to Mahler’s Fifth…but what spectacular playing! Who knew the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which he is principal conductor, could be quite as electrifying as this? Horns and trumpets are paramount, as they have to be in this symphony…The strings are world-class, too, nuanced and capable of powerful accents.

Harding’s strategy is not to duck the composer’s frequent recourses to extremity but to meet them head-on...In a market where modern rivals sound pedestrian or perfumed with finesse by comparison, this Fifth raises high hopes for what the graphic cover artwork implies may become a complete cycle.

Harding’s motto is “safety first”. He follows the score’s expression marks with forensic precision and an impeccable regard for nuances of phrasing. This approach reaps immediate dividends whenever tempos slow, as in the famous adagietto, which is coolly dispatched yet still succulent.

The drawbacks come when Mahler’s thoughts are tormented, grotesque and faster.

Harding gives the lyricism space...also a reading that grows in stature on repeated listening, and the Swedish players are at their very best. He has patience, which means the opening Funeral March evolves not only grimly but inevitably, too. The clarity Harding finds throughout, and particularly in the finale, is this interpretation’s strength.