If the EMI Eminence disc is a fair example of the RLPO's present form, then it's no wonder that they've been drawing such enthusiastic notices. It isn't just the technical quality that makes theirs a strong and very repeatable Mahler Symphony No. 5—how could it be? What's impressive is the consistency of the involvement, and the overall dramatic conviction. Mackerras's interpretation is in no way contentious—literally it's a very faithful reading—nor is he a builder of big moments for their own sake. It isn't hard to find examples from other recordings of more hair-raising climaxes or more determined characterization—Jarvi provides one or two, but as with Barbirolli (EMI) and Bernstein (the high-point of his DG near-cycle, I think) it's obvious that he sees the work whole. The return of the D major brass chorale at the end really does seem to clinch the matter, and I enjoyed the journey there very much. Singling out particular passages for praise is not easy, but I enjoyed Claire Briggs's obbligato horn in the Scherzo (Mackerras seems to get the pace just right), and the restrained but deeply-felt Adagietto—and the woodwind and horn at the beginning of the finale really do sound as though they're enjoying their brief conversation. In all these places the recording gives the players first-class service.
Jarvi's version isn't short of good ideas or impressive gestures; the trouble is that the tension seems to come and go. He has the edge on Mackerras in the first and second movements' slowly dying codas, and the Funeral March's huge Klagend outburst just before the end has a sharper edge—but there are just as many moments where I feel the characterization is strained; parts of the Adagietto for instance (not helped by heavy bass pizzicatos) or the pizzicato solo viola mid-way through the Scherzo (a little too grotesque I think). And I didn't find the Scherzo's solo horn anywhere near as persuasive here. In the end, it's a Mahler Fifth with a few memorable moments, but without that vital sense of sustained argument.
So while I'm not going to go overboard and claim classic status for the Mackerras, at mid-price it's a very attractive contender indeed, and like the Barbirolli it proves that an ego the size of a planet is by no means the sine qua non of good Mahler interpretation.'