While Mariss Jansons’s repertoire isn’t large it is always perfectly formed with Mahler somewhere close to its heart. Compared to David Zinman’s squeaky-clean Fifth, Jansons pursues a more traditional line, seeing it as the conductor’s role to micromanage tempo relationships and textural detail as well as to secure the best playing. Not a challenge for the Royal Concertgebouw, probably the most experienced of all Mahler orchestras.

Jansons’s account, though edited together from several concerts, feels genuinely live, not just because he’s an enthusiastic vocal participant in the manner of Sir Colin Davis! Things simply get better as the evening proceeds. For all the beauties unearthed, the first two movements lose some of their coherence and gravitas when the underlying pulse is as richly varied as it is here. There are gorgeous moments but a generally softer grain than one is accustomed to. Disruptive details are downplayed – take the peremptory pizzicato concluding Mahler’s funeral march (here by turns rigidly militaristic and affectionately indulged). The ironic risks becoming merely picturesque, thanks in part to the typically accommodating sound favoured by RCO Live.

The Scherzo is carefully characterised, the Adagietto something of a triumph. Quite a feat to make its over-familiar progression sound natural and unaffected, even as one is aware of the artifice behind the illusion of a single breath. Perhaps you find Bernstein too laboured and latter-day interpreters too fast? Adopting a middle course, Jansons subtly suggests that this might really be a love letter to Alma. The finale goes splendidly too. Notwithstanding the sedate apotheosis of the chorale theme, it’s difficult to remain unmoved by the maestro’s absolute control as his players make their dash to the finishing-line. The ecstatic audience response suggests that you may enjoy this performance more than I did. Sophisticated, civilised and meticulous, what’s missing is a certain edgy intensity.