is a German

classical pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Early life and education

Alice was born in Munich, Germany, in 1988. Her Japanese mother had studied piano in Tokyo; her father was a German civil engineer. She says she realised as a child that "music was the language that goes much beyond any words" and that she wanted to communicate and express herself through music. Ott started piano lessons at the age of four. At age five she reached the final stage of the youth competition in Munich, playing to a full house in the Hercules Hall. At age seven she won the

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for the ...

competition in Germany. In 2002, Ott was the youngest finalist at the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition in Japan where she won the Most Promising Artist award. From the age of twelve, she studied at the

Salzburg Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

with

Karl-Heinz Kämmerling Karl-Heinz Kämmerling (6 May 1930 – 14 June 2012) was a notable German academic teacher of classical pianists, who trained pianists at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover for careers as performer ...

while continuing her school education in Munich. Ott has won awards at a number of piano competitions, including first prize at the 2004 Pianello Val Tidone Competition. Her younger sister Mona Asuka Ott is also a classical pianist. In February 2019, Ott announced on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Career

Ott has made recordings for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

and performs regularly in concert tours in Europe, Japan, and the United States. She won first prize in the 2003 Bach Competition in Köthen, the 2004 Pianello Val Tidone Competition in Italy, and the 4th EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association) International Competition in 2005.

Recordings

Ott has a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and her recordings include: *2009 –

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Études d'exécution transcendante Études is French for "studies". It is used as a name for several music or dance works, including: * ''Études'' (Chopin), three sets of studies for the piano by Frédéric Chopin, composed between 1829 and 1839 * ''Études'' (Debussy), a set of 1 ...

*2010 – Chopin: Complete

Waltzes The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...

*2010 – Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

: Piano Concerto No. 1 *2011 –

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: Piano sonatas No.3 in C, Op.2 No.3 and No.21 in C, Op.53 (''Waldstein'') *2013 –

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

: ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

'' and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: Piano Sonata in D major, D850'' *2014 – Scandale (with Francesco Tristano) – Tristano: A Soft Shell Groove; Stravinsky: ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'';

Rimsky-Korsakoff Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

: '' Scheherazade – The Story of the Kalendar Prince'';

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

: '' La Valse'' *2015 – The Chopin Project (with

Ólafur Arnalds Ólafur Arnalds (; born 3 November 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the ...

) *2016 – ''Wonderland.''

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

: ** Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op.16; **

Lyric Pieces ''Lyric Pieces'' ( no, Lyriske stykker) is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 ( Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The collection includes several of his best known pieces, ...

Book I, Op.12, Album Leaf; Elves' Dance; Book III, Op.43, Butterfly; To Spring; Book V, Op.54, March Of The Trolls; Notturno; Book VII, Op.62, Brooklet; Book VIII, Op.65, Ballad; Wedding Day At Troldhaugen; Book X, Op.71, Once Upon A Time; ** Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46, In The Hall Of The Mountain King; Peer Gynt Suite No.2, Op.55, Solveig's Song *2018 – ''Nightfall'' ** Claude Debussy ***Rêverie, L. 68; *** Suite bergamasque, L. 75 1. Prelude 2. Menuet 3. Clair de lune 4. Passepied ** Erik Satie *** Gnossiennes: No. 1 (Lent), No. 3 (Lent); ***

Gymnopédies The ''Gymnopédies'' (), or ''Trois Gymnopédies'', are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1888, but they were at first published individually: the first and the thir ...

: No. 1 (Lent et douloureux) ** Maurice Ravel ***

Gaspard de la Nuit ''Gaspard de la nuit'' (subtitled ''Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand''), M. 55 is a suite of piano pieces by Maurice Ravel, written in 1908. It has three movements, each based on a poem or ''fantaisie'' from the collection '' ...

, M. 55 1. Ondine 2. Le Gibet 3. Scarbo ***

Pavane pour une infante défunte ''Pavane pour une infante défunte'' (''Pavane for a Dead Princess'') is a work for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, written in 1899 while the French composer was studying at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Ravel published an orche ...

, M. 19 *2021 - ''Echoes of Life'' ** Frédéric Chopin: Preludes, Op. 28 ** Francesco Tristano: In The Beginning Was **

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

Musica ricercata ''Musica ricercata'' is a set of eleven pieces for piano by György Ligeti. The work was composed from 1951 to 1953, shortly after the composer began lecturing at the Budapest Academy of Music. The work premiered on 18 November 1969 in Sundsvall, ...

I. Sostenuto. Misurato. Prestissimo. **

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

: Valzer **Jason Beck: Prelude in C Sharp Major **

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western ...

: Litany (In Memory of Michael Vyner) ** Arvo Pärt: Für Alina **Alice Sara Ott: Lullaby to Eternity (on fragments of W.A. Mozart's "Lacrimosa")

References

External links

*
Deutsche Grammophon bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ott, Alice Sara 1988 births Musicians from Munich German classical pianists German women pianists Living people Deutsche Grammophon artists German people of Japanese descent Women classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century German musicians People with multiple sclerosis 21st-century German women 21st-century women pianists