*** BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 5. Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Georg Tintner, conductor. (Naxos)

Georg Tintner’s Bruckner cycle for Naxos, eventually to include all of the symphonies from 00 through 9, gets off to a convincing start with this Fifth. The 80-year-old conductor crafts a propulsive performance--never overindulgent when it comes to the composer’s grandeur, never distracted by his asides. He threads phrases with a delicacy and precision that make them sing.

The Royal Scottish is no Berlin Philharmonic, but that has its advantages too: The orchestra doesn’t rely merely on extravagant sound for impact but makes music from first to last. In the process, Bruckner is humanized.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).