Alice Sara Ott: A Place Beyond

“This playlist is for those in search of a moment of calm,” the German Japanese pianist tells Apple Music Classical. “When I put this music on, it transports me to a place that feels safe, away from all the noise and the dissonances of the outside world. I hope that it helps you recharge your batteries, too, regardless of where you are right now.” For Alice Sara Ott, Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina is an ideal tonic for such times: “we experience not only the intensity of the notes themselves, but also the pauses, the colors, and the tension in between those notes. It doesn’t allow us get distracted and forces us to be aware of the intimacy and urgency of the moment.” Ott’s playlist also celebrates friends who have inspired and nurtured her. Sandy Denny’s “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” features the singer Julia Bullock and the pianist and conductor Christian Reif (“irreplaceable companions to me during the pandemic”). And the opening track to this playlist, Chopin’s Nocturne No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 37 No. 1, comes from Ott’s 2015 album The Chopin Project, a collaboration with the Icelandic musician Ólafur Arnalds. “One day during our recording sessions, Ólafur and I decided to go bar-hopping in Reykjavik, looking for old bar pianos that we could play and record on,” explains Ott. “We found a few that were slightly out of tune, but they had this ‘imperfection’ and the nostalgic sound we were looking for.”