“The Highest Level“ explores the Berlin recording session of Lang Lang and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The documentary provides insight into processes that are usually veiled: the recording of an album in a league of its own: the preparation of the musicians, the recording in the Philharmonie Berlin, the battle for the perfect sound, the mixing and balancing units during the audio post-production. It is the striking distance to the artists that makes the film an intimate experience. Lang Lang, Sir Simon Rattle, and the musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker, but of course the audio engineers as well are taking the centre stage. The musical pieces to be recorded are Béla Bartóks Piano Concert No. 2 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
I’m a creative animal – Barbara Hannigan
She crosses boundaries and loves to explore new territory. Barbara Hannigan is one of the most fascinating and multi-facetted artistic personalities of our time. She sets new standards as a singer, conductor, and performance artist. The intimate portrait “I’m a creative animal” takes the viewer into the world of an exceptional musician – a world of both passion and discipline. Her performances possess a breathtaking intensity because of her exquisite vocal technique and virtuosity, musical and theatrical expressivity, and uncompromising engagement.
7 Lives of Music – The Kanneh-Mason Familiy
Seven siblings whom nobody expected – but the classical music world desperately needed. The story of the Kanneh-Mason Family reads like a fairytale. They have dealt with prejudice, they have been overlooked, they have been made to feel out of place. But they have picked themselves up and they have proven themselves time and time again. The Kanneh-Masons light up every room they enter and they have found this to ensure the support of people like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who invited Sheku to play at their wedding, and Elton John, who supported Isata with a scholarship. This film accompanies this family on their path and join them on and behind the stages of the world as they conquer it together, as they grow into their own as a family of talented musicians.