"The Highest Level" explores the Berlin recording session with Lang Lang and the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.
The documentary gives audiences a glimpse at processes usually kept under wraps—the artists’ personal preparation, the rehearsal and recording sessions in the Berliner Philharmonie, the work of the mixing and balancing units during audio post-production—documenting what happens when musical stars align and bring a once-in-a-lifetime recording into being.
The visual and emotional closeness to the artists makes the film a particularly intimate experience: to Lang Lang and Sir Simon Rattle, to the musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and to the audio engineers and technical crew. It is their committed collaboration that made their recording of Bartók's Piano Concert No. 2 and Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto possible.
Picture: Lang Lang © Harald Hoffmann