Hania Rani – Live at Les Invalides, Paris, for Cercle, 2022

Hania Rani – the Polish pianist, composer and singer born in Gdańsk in 1990 – delivers one of Cercle’s most striking filmed performances with this set. Classically trained at Warsaw’s Chopin University of Music and later at Berlin’s Hanns Eisler Hochschule, she developed a neo-classical language shot through with electronics, balancing minimalism, synth textures and a hushed voice. The Cercle concept films artists in iconic locations: here, the main courtyard of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, on 27 June 2022. The monumental setting – the classical façade and gilded dome glowing at dusk – frames the pianist’s intimate music. Alone at the piano, surrounded by keyboards and machines, Hania Rani unfolds pieces drawn from Esja, Home and her wider repertoire, including a reworking of WhoMadeWho’s “Abu Simbel.” What makes the capture notable is the tension between the scale of the monument and the fragility of the pianistic gesture, heightened by Cercle’s signature aerial (drone) cinematography. A benchmark filmed live concert for anyone discovering the artist. Keywords: Hania Rani, Les Invalides, Paris, Cercle, live, neo-classical, filmed live concert.