Hand on heart, it's a long while since I’ve enjoyed a new Mahler Five as much as this. For a start, Rafael Payare clearly sees this teeming, almost over-rich score as a vibrant, purposeful whole...Yet this isn’t a case of sacrificing vivid detail to the long line. Time and again things stand out.

Throughout, Payare also applies subtle but meaningful touches of rubato, creating a consistent feeling of tension and release. Everything holds together as one unit; every passage connected to what came before and what comes next. Expressively, what impressed me most is that the music does not come off as sectionalized. Orchestral execution is at a very high level as well.

Intensity, inflection and colour build as the performance proceeds...This is a Fifth that sparkles.

an intense and beautifully recorded interpretation that you feel will the stand the test of time.