The Fifth makes exceptional demands on orchestra and conductor alike, and Gatti and the Royal Philharmonic rise handsomely to the occasion in this 1997 recording. The performance is an energetic one, even fierce in places (especially when it comes to tempo), but always under firm control. Gatti, the RPO"s music director since 1996, clearly knows the score very well. He elicits an interesting pointing of rhythm from the band, clarifying Mahler"s contrapuntal strands and ensuring that the symphony"s gigantic climaxes never degenerate into a chaotic welter of sound. His is above all an expressive reading of the score, not merely a literal realization. One feels a presence behind the interpretation, and a definite sensitivity to Mahler"s idiom and expressive aim. Owing to the venue, London"s Henry Wood Hall, the sound is a bit bright in the loudest passages. --Ted Libbey