Andrea Lam plays Schumann, Granados and Kernis
Ok, we are lucky that we are hearing another pianist on the same piano. How will Lam compare with Lee and Rashkovskiy? Here she goes. Also, I will now make a habit of putting a one-liner at the beginning so that peanut gallery can chime in in real-time.
I have a special kinship with the Phantasiestüke. It was my first Schumann and I remember struggling as an early teenager. Perhaps the juvenile character embedded in the piece, and how it moves from one mood to another rapidly spoke to my mind well. So, it is always wonderful to hear someone else’s perspective on it.
Lam does not disappoint. There are are lots of wonderful details, and paints a lovely picture, particularly in Fable. The staccati are light and deft, and absolutely adorable. The whirlwind in Traumes Wirren is a sheer delight. She is now in Ende vom Lied. It is not as majestic as I had envisioned it to be, but I was playing it before Lam was even born. Perhaps my perception has changed, and I am enjoying the youthful, almost bordering on juvenile innocence being presented. Oh, what a delight.
Now, here comes Granados. Lam changes the character completely. Now, I am hearing sensual colors. Yet, I feel that I am yearning for more. On top of the gorgeous lines, I want more flirtatiousness with far more expansive rubato appropriate for this style. I WANT TO INDULGE!!!!
As Lam goes through the lovely Quejas ó la maja y el ruiseñor, It is also quite a relief for this listener to be able to enjoy the music at a more relaxed pace. The music forces the audience’s heart rate to match that of the music, and that’s the reason why the range of metronome (40 bpm to 208 bpm) is just about the range of the human heart rate. All the virtuosity and firework is great and fun and all, but it is the quiet, sultry sweet talk with which I’m more likely to fall in love.
I am now transported to a different world through Kernis Superstar Etude No.2. Oh, what a strange title. However, the style is quite improvisatory, and Lam’s performance here is utterly convincing. She ends with a slap on the keyboard and jumps up with a big smile. As Cumming said, it was fun. It looks like Lam was having fun too, and she certainly has a big personality that makes me want to hear her again.
Ken Iisaka
May 25th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Lam’s playing of the Schuman is giving me the exact opposite reaction of what I just heard from Li in the Brahms. Her playing is captivating, intelligent with some simply wonderful phrasing throughout and I could listen to the entire performance again. What a huge contrast this provides for two pianists opening their recitals with German romantacists. The experience was light years apart between Lam and Li. Far better material and better performance here.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Apologies to Schumann for leaving an “n” off his name.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
It’s a deeply felt performance that improved as it progressed, particularly with the range of In der Nacht and the jaunty Fabel and certainly with Traumes Wirren.
This set demands a rich palette and voice leading and Andrea is partly handicapped by the state of the piano. It’s hard to mix your colors if the piano’s this far out of tune. It’s a bit like having dirt in the paint. She’s settled in and the ending was wonderful. Now for the real painter . . . . and thorny pianism.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Andrea Lam is captivating, isn’t she? What confidence she exudes while being both playful and magisterial at just the right moments. I’d love to be in the Hall to hear every nuance of her expression…
May 25th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
After such a superficial display of pianism from Li, Lam sounds like quite a deep musician… Sometimes a bit “rough” around the edges, though. The Schumann started very well, but there wasn’t as much contrast between the individual pieces as there could have been. She does appear to have a good sense of direction and shape with phrasing.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Ken, thanks for getting the titles up so people can comment where the subject (pianists) are indicated.
Lam is another one whose musicality is striking and makes me listen to pieces I had thought were ‘too familiar’…
Great range of sound if she doesn’t always leave the keys as quickly as others in some of the louder quick passages. Wonderful singing quality.
And so unaffected, though with expressiveness.
Alas, I missed the earlier set today.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
This is a wonderful performance; her confidence shines through.
Perhaps someone here knows: do the judges (unofficially) decide whether someone makes it to the semifinals as soon as the candidate’s preliminary is done? With so many competitors, I’m having trouble remembering all of them. A few stand out, of course, in one direction or the other.
Perhaps a requirement for a juror is being able to keep many details of a performance in mind for a long time.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
she makes you want to listen and she looks like she’s really enjoying the music. Two important qualities in a performer. I hope we get to hear more from her.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Steven: you stole the word I was going to use. Captivating. I’m absolutely loving this right now.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Absolutely gorgeous Maiden and Nightingale! Not very “Spanish” in style, but wonderfully colorful and poetic.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Lam is giving an excellent showing and I hope she advances along with Bozhanov and Wi. I love the Granados on this piano. She is coming into her own or did at the beginning of Granados. Now that’s over. Good job.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I just hope the few dropped notes in the Schumann and Granados won’t count against her with the jury…
May 25th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Captivating is the word on the tip of my tongue too … she must be, since so many of us are responding just that way.
Andrea lam reminds me of Joyce Yang insofar as they both project a joyful personality with seeming effortlessness.
Well, the audience rewarded the ending fireworks, which is fine, but I wish they had come out of their spell a bit for the Phantasiestucke, which I thought was marvelous.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
We’re all using the word. The Granados was thoroughly capitivating and you could hear (or at least invent) the stories and secrets in both pieces. Los requiebros is very tricky and you weren’t really aware of it. I had such fun listening.
And the Kernis lived up to its title. She very much deserves this applause.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Interesting the comment in the backstage interview about the 3 “P”s. Personality, programming and performance. Lam was most delightful and as I initially said- captivating. Hope we get to hear l LOT more of her.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
The jury is supposed to decide at the end of the prelims who they choose to advance. Several of them keep a “in the running” list and don’t bother to remember the ones they didn’t like or wouldn’t want to hear again. That way the list to be decided at the end is shorter.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I want to keep watching her play. Someone sign this woman to a DVD contract.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Answer to some questions: Decisions are made tomorrow night after all the prelims are finished. It could be announced in an hour or 3 am as has happened the last couple of competitions. The judges have their eyes on stars as we do and they tussle about just like RR discribes in the interview a/b judging. The talent just keeps getting better and better from one who has been coming from the beginning and priviledged to be involved in a string of competitions and concerts. Skipped notes are ignored in a performance like Lams’ but remembered in a performance like Li’s unfortunately.
May 25th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I really like Lam’s energy. She does seem joyful and enjoying the music. I confess that I was so distracted by uncharacteristic Granados. I try to NOT think to myself what a piece “should” sound like; I do try to hear the pianist’s soul/spirit in the music. But, I was so distracted by the total lack of attention to style that I didn’t appreciate her account of the Granados. I found myself wanting to tell her to slow down (!!!) during the Maja y el Ruiseñor. This is a piece I would have loved to hear Ilya R. play in his expansive, romantic fashion. By contrast, I enjoyed the Schuman a lot. In this piece her style reminded me a little of Kern. The etude was a lot of fun and it dazzled.
May 25th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Andrea Lam plays a delightful program of interesting, virtuosic and easy-listening music. She is kinda like Mariangela on sunday, whose program is multipurpose: virtuosity (for the jury), easy-listening pleasure and fun (for the audience).
Both should make the cut for semifinals.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I agree with Marcus that Lam’s Granados lacked style. I didn’t care for it, and personally I thought the amateur who won the Youtube contest played it much better.