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Alice Sara Ott presents some of Jhannssons best-loved music, newly reimagined for solo piano

PianistAlice Sara Ottpresents the work of Icelandic composerJhann Jhannsson(19692018) as never heard before. She has made theworld premiere recordingsof a new volume of piano transcriptions published as a limited edition by Faber Music which capture the essence of 30 of his most famous works. As composer Dustin OHalloran writes in the introduction to the book, Jhanns music, in its timelessness, will forever remain vibrant and alive.

The selection spans Jhannssons career, from studio albums such asEnglabrnandOrpheto the pioneering scores he wrote for documentaries or feature films such asCopenhagen Dreams,Personal Effectsand the Golden-Globe-winningThe Theory of Everything. Two digital EPs will be released byDeutsche Grammophonbefore the end of 2025, with the full 30-track album following next spring.

Though Alice Sara Ott never met Jhann Jhannsson, she had always loved his music. In preparing for this unique project, she spoke to several of his friends and colleagues to gain greater insight into his work and processes: As I worked on these pieces internalising the musical architecture, shapes and language of Jhanns music it actually felt like a very personal dialogue with him.

Alice then travelled to Reykjavk in July 2024 to record all 30 tracks at the studio of Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Bergur risson, who had himself worked with Jhannsson in the past. She played most of the pieces on rissons old upright piano, having fallen in love with the sense of nostalgia conjured by its felted sound.

Whats so incredible about Jhann Jhannssons music, concludes Ott, is how his compositions, originally written for larger ensembles and different instruments, translate so beautifully to the piano. Within this more focused and intimate sound world, the writing reveals hidden nuances and enhances the purity and clarity that are so intrinsic to his music.

LP 1 Side A
1. Ba
2. Odi et Amo/Krkdll
3. Englabrn
4. Ji & Karen
5. Flugeldar II from 'Ds'
6. J, Hemmi Minn?from 'Ds'
7. Ruslpstur from 'Ds'

LP 1 Side B
1. The Suns Gone Dim and the Skys Turned Black
2. Melodia (iii)
3. Theme from 'Varmints'
4. Dressing Up from 'Personal Effects'
5. Linda & Walter?from 'Personal Effects'
6. Indian Wedding from 'Personal Effects'
7. He Says Its The Future from 'Copenhagen Dreams'
8. Eleven Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty-Nine Died of Natural Causes from 'Copenhagen Dreams'

LP 2 Side A
1. Flight from the City
2. Innocence?from 'Free the Mind'
3. Wills Story?I from 'Free the Mind'
4. Time to Say Goodbye from 'White Black Boy'
5. Payphone from 'McCanick'
6. A Game of Croquet from 'The Theory of Everything'
7. A Model of the Universe from 'The Theory of Everything'
8. The Theory of Everything from 'The Theory of Everything'

LP 2 Side B
1. Beauty from 'Blind Massage'
2. A Sparrow Alighted Upon Our Shoulder
3. By the Roes, and by the Hinds of the Field
4. Good Morning, Midnight
5. The Drowned World
6. The Radiant City
7. Be Over from 'The Shadow Play'