Among symphonies of the 19th century, none attempts to reconcile the imperatives of the Romantic era with the methods and forms of the Baroque more fervently than Anton Bruckner’s Fifth. The first movement combines 18th-century sinfonias and chorales with more-Brucknerian block-like writing. The finale reviews the material of the opening movements, in a patent nod to Beethoven’s Ninth, but the extensive fugue that follows unites counterpoint and symphonic structure in a completely original way. It’s one of the more bewildering of Bruckner’s symphonies, and difficult to bring off.

Sinopoli died suddenly on the podium last April, so this release can be seen as a testament to his engagement with this composer. It’s a fitting one, probably his finest Bruckner recording. The sound has a depth and warmth lacking in his earlier efforts, which sounded shallow and abrasive. And the Dresden orchestra’s playing is fantastic: the brass are commanding without being coarse (a Bruckner no-no), and the strings have a sweetness even at the top of their range.

The best thing about Sinopoli’s interpretation is the way it gets the detail of this problematic work right without sacrificing its dramatic argument. The opening movement’s main theme is oddly slow but the choirs of the orchestra are superbly balanced. In the Adagio he builds to some imposing climaxes without ever losing the basic pulse. The fugue in the last movement has both weight and transparency, and the brass are magnificent right up through the final chorale. This is one of the great Bruckner Fifths of recent years, and a potent reminder that the music scene is much less interesting without this maestro around.