Those readers who warmed to Benjamin Zander’s studio recording of Mahler’s Fifth (7/01) should be happy with the present offering. Once again‚ the music­making is accompanied by an extended‚ mid­Atlantic talk in which the conductor lectures – and whistles – his way through the score‚ insightful and self­congratulatory by turns. Those weaned on Antony Hopkins may find it helpful – or insufferable – according to taste. To be fair‚ Zander is very good at elucidating motivic cross­references‚ and he goes some way toward justifying his highly coloured‚ rather choppy treatment of the second movement. He praises the Philharmonia’s leader‚ Christopher Warren­Green‚ as the embodiment of ‘palpable evil’ and so – in a sense – he is‚ having broken a string during the sessions in his attempt to achieve the requisite quality of attack. Zander’s commentary also emphasises the discontinuity of the opening of the first movement‚ the bells jangling roughshod over the otherwise elegant turn into the main theme‚ so it’s a surprise to find him making rather less of this (for good or ill) than several recent exponents. Pierre Boulez was surely unusual in not labouring the point. Elsewhere‚ with so much attention focused on minute details‚ the bigger picture begins to unravel. Zander is unorthodox in his rubato­laden treatment of the second subject‚ unafraid to risk breaking the music into separate episodes even before it has a chance to get going‚ but this curiously old­fashioned rendering can only be achieved at the expense of continuity. Nor does the great slow movement strike home as deeply as it can. Colin Davis’s simpler‚ more Beethovenian approach pays huge dividends here‚ and his orchestra is in better shape. The Philharmonia’s divided strings and oddly hollow‚ bass­light timbre (as recorded) may disappoint. Swedish­born soprano Camilla Tilling is just beginning her career – she sings in Muti’s recent live account of Cherubini’s Solemn Mass in D minor (EMI‚ 10/01) – and she has a lighter‚ more appropriate voice type than many who have tackled the part. The besotted conductor includes his own (possibly ill­advised) panegyric in the accompanying talk. That at least is unique. For all its bold contrasts‚ there are too many ‘better’ recordings of the Fourth for this perfectly respectable one to claim pride of place. The recommendations above represent just the tip of the iceberg. If recent concert performances are any guide‚ Zander’s Sixth is likelier to make waves.