Supple and muscular, but perhaps too sinewy and sometimes even a bit stiff,
Heinrich Schiff and
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie's performances of Beethoven's Second and Third symphonies come close to greatness, but ultimately fall short.
Schiff, himself a supple and muscular cellist, has become an accomplished conductor, and he clearly knows how to balance a sonority, clarify a texture, and control an ensemble.
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie plays with strength, but also subtlety and esprit de corps. Together,
Schiff and the
Kammerphilharmonie make a wonderful partnership, and their performances here are full of felicitous and even affectionate touches. But they are also full of a sense of strain as the
Kammerphilharmonie strives to create a sound bigger than itself. In the big moments -- and, let's face it, Beethoven's music is essentially a succession of big moments -- the
Kammerphilharmonie cannot quite rise to the power level Beethoven's music demands. From the shattering dissonance in the introduction to the Second Symphony to the awesome apotheosis at the coda of the finale of the Third,
Schiff and the
Kammerphilharmonie are willing, but they just don't have the numbers to make it work. Berlin Classics sound is big, close, and vivid.