Andrea Lam gave a dazzling preliminary recital, but unfortunately had an off night at the semifinal stage.  She started off wonderfully with the popular Haydn C major sonata, infused with sparkle and life.  The performance could have accompanied a Charlie Chaplin silent film.  But somewhere in the middle of the Brahms six pieces of Op. 118, my mind began wandering.  As beautifully as Lam plays, everything began to sound the same.  This and Op 117 are hard sets to hold together anyway, and for some reason she, or maybe it was me, just wasn’t up to it.  The Four Etudes of Stravinsky displayed her wonderful technique, and perhaps this work took its toll.  The Bates received a lovely performance, but this was followed by four more-challenging pieces, Ginastera’s “Suite de danzas Criollas,” which, being Ginastera, was very effective, but even Ms. Lam seemed frustrated at the end.  All total she performed 18 different movements of music, ranging from Haydn to Stravinsky, and it was more than she could manage at her best.  This fatigue is not unusal in the semifinal and final stage.  Under normal conditions, no doubt Andrea Lam is a superb pianist.

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