Alice Sara Ott returns with Echoes of Life

The German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is about to release her tenth album on DG after a long hiatus.

Constructed around Chopin’s Preludes op.28, it includes works by György Ligeti, Nino Rota, Chilly Gonzales, Tōru Takemitsu, Arvo Pärt, a commissioned work by Francesco Tristano and Alice Sara Ott’s own variations on fragments of Mozart’s Lacrimosa.

Alice says: ‘Echoes Of Life is a musical journey that not only reflects on the thoughts and moments that continue to influence my life, but also portrays how I see myself as a classical musician today. With his Préludes op.28, Frédéric Chopin composed a collection of 24 individual character pieces – very different from each other and yet all connected in some way. They remind me of life. I have chosen seven contemporary works to intersperse the Préludes and, while they echo some of my most personal and vulnerable experiences, they also affirm how modern, provocative and timeless Chopin’s music is.’