At NGA, Hoerr and Sigfridsson have difficulty finding clarity

The German cellist Peter Hoerr has no lack of subtle, interesting ideas, but he had two big hurdles to overcome at the National Gallery of Art on Sunday night. One was the notorious acoustics of the West Garden Court, which tend to swamp gentler-voiced instruments in a sea of reverberation. The other was the cellist's partner for the evening, the Finnish pianist Henri Sigfridsson -- whose driving, full-speed-ahead approach often seemed to leave the more introspective Hoerr hanging on for dear li...