Pianist Lang Lang, Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philarmonic working to The Highest Level

Since learning from Deutsche Welle some years back that they’d be doing a documentary about Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang collaborating with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic for a new CD, I knew that it is a must see for me. And thanks to a giveaway by the Berlin Philharmonic around a couple of years later, I finally got my hands on a DVD copy of The Highest Level - The Creation of an Extraordinary Recording.

This documentary by Christian Berger follows Lang Lang as he records his first ever CD with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. And for this project, he has paired up two of the most technically demanding pieces in the piano repertoire: Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 and Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Sz. 95, BB 101. And yet Lang Lang goes through the pieces like a walk in the park.

Throughout the film, Lang Lang and Simon Rattle share insights on how to interpret the music and come up with the best recording. I am surprised to find out that there wasn’t any real drama behind the scenes with strong personalities clashing on how to go over the recording. I guess that with artists as capable as Lang Lang and the Berlin Philharmonic, it is no wonder that the recording had gone smoothly.

Although the CD gives top credit to Lang Lang, Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, the documentary gave importance to the role of record producer Cristoph Franke, who has worked hard at the sound studio during the recording and also during the all-important post-production stage. His judgement is key in not just deciding which takes were the best but on how to mix everything together to come up with a seamless recording of the entire concertos.

The DVD had the entire Prokofiev 3 filmed during the recording sessions at the Berlin Philharmonie. The recording had numerous takes but this entire concerto looked and sounded like it was filmed and recorded during a one time performance of the piece.

The final CD has been released by Sony Classical for quite some time now and this documentary did give me a greater appreciation for these two concertos which are, unfortunately, not performed in here that often. Until some brave soul comes and performs either of these two concertos, I have to content myself by having this recording in constant rotation.