Alice Sara Ott Alice Sara Ott

Alice Sara Ott (born August 1, 1988) is a German classical pianist and the elder sister of Mona Asuka Ott.

Early life and education

Ott was born in Munich, Germany, in 1988; her Japanese mother had studied piano in Tokyo and 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. She started piano lessons when she was four, and reached the final stage of the youth competition in Munich at the age of five, playing to a full house in the Hercules Hall.

She won the Jugend musiziert competition in Germany when she was seven years old.

In 2002 she 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 with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling 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 sister Mona Asuka Ott is also a professional pianist.

Career

Ott has made recordings of Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etudes and Frédéric Chopin's waltzes for Deutsche Grammophon, and performed concert tours in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Awards

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.