World Premiere Recordings of Haunting New Piano Versions of Works by Jóhann Jóhannsson Performed by Alice Sara Ott
Alice Sara Ott presents some of Jóhannsson’s best-loved music,
newly reimagined for solo piano
Jóhann Jóhannsson: Piano Works – Film Themes, the first of two digital EPs,
will be released on 7 November 2025
Pianist Alice Sara Ott presents the work of Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969–2018) as never heard before. She has made the world premiere recordings of 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 O’Halloran writes in the introduction to the book, “Jóhann’s music, in its timelessness, will forever remain vibrant and alive”.
The selection spans Jóhannsson’s career, from studio albums such as Englabörn and Orphée to the pioneering scores he wrote for documentaries or feature films such as Copenhagen Dreams, Personal Effects and the Golden-Globe-winning The Theory of Everything. Two digital EPs will be released by Deutsche Grammophon before the end of 2025, with the full 30-track album following next spring.
Though Alice Sara Ott never met Jóhann Jóhannsson, 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 Jóhann’s music – it actually felt like a very personal dialogue with him.”
Alice then travelled to Reykjavík in July 2024 to record all 30 tracks at the studio of Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Bergur Þórisson, who had himself worked with Jóhannsson in the past. She played most of the pieces on Þórisson’s old upright piano, having fallen in love with the sense of nostalgia conjured by its felted sound.
“What’s so incredible about Jóhann Jóhannsson’s 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.”
Available from 7 November 2025, the first EP, Jóhann Jóhannsson: Piano Works – Film Themes, comprises “Beauty” from Blind Massage, “Dressing Up” from Personal Effects, “Innocence” from Free the Mind and “The Theory of Everything” from the film of the same name. The last of these will be available to stream/download from 17 October. The second EP, Piano Works – From Englabörn, follows on 12 December, and the album will be issued in all formats on 6 March 2026.
ABOUT ALICE SARA OTT
One of the world’s most-streamed female classical pianists, Alice Sara Ott is renowned not only for the poetry, refinement and emotional honesty of her playing, but for her innovative approach to programming and audience engagement. A global artist who performs in the most prestigious venues both as solo pianist and with the world’s leading orchestras, she continually reimagines the repertoire, creating original multimedia experiences through cross-disciplinary collaborations.
Exploring and experimenting have long been part of the German-Japanese pianist’s approach to her work. When touring the music from her 2021 DG album Echoes Of Life, for example, she worked with architect Hakan Demirel, whose digital video installation added a visual narrative to her live performances. Then, in 2023, she became the face of the Apple Music Classical app when she starred in its multi-platform video launch campaign, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Karina Canellakis.
Alice is also the first choice for many leading contemporary composers when it comes to premiering and recording their work. This has led to exciting collaborations with Ólafur Arnalds, Bryce Dessner, Chilly Gonzales, and Francesco Tristano, among others.
A talented illustrator and designer, Alice fosters her versatile image by merging classical music with fashion, jewellery and tech. She has worked closely with such leading international brands as Technics; JOST bags (Germany); French jewellery house Chaumet, part of the LVMH group; and German jeweller Wempe.
She became an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist in 2008, when she was only 19 years old. Her latest album, Alice Sara Ott: John Field · Complete Nocturnes, was released in February 2025 to critical acclaim (“Ott brings to these pieces an expressive touch, subtle rubato, graceful left-hand fluidity and sparkling right-hand filigree” – Gramophone).
As a complement to the recording, she worked with director Andrew Staples to create Alice Sara Ott: Nocturne, a 45-minute film shot at the Hyperbowl virtual production house in Munich. Offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s mind during the creative process, this immersive film went on to win the 2025 OPUS KLASSIK Audiovisual Music Production of the Year award.
ABOUT JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON
Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was a hugely influential figure in the contemporary music scene. Disregarding any notion of barriers between different genres of music, he created his own compositional language, a fusion of classical, minimalist, ambient and electronic elements, with a frequent use of synths and drones. When he died in February 2018, at the age of just 48, he was at the height of his creative powers. His legacy lives on in his wide-ranging recorded catalogue, whose contents span everything from evocative works for small ensemble to strikingly original and multi-award-winning film scores.
Born in Reykjavík in September 1969, Jóhannsson learned piano and trombone in his youth, but was essentially a self-taught musician. He began playing in bands as a teenager, notably the indie outfit Daisy Hill Puppy Farm and the alt-rock HAM, gradually switching his focus to composition. His debut solo album, Englabörn (“Angels”, 2002), revealed an early ability to translate emotions into atmospheric soundscapes and dramatic musical portraits, using a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments.
He developed his experimental idiom in studio albums such as Virðulegu Forsetar (“Honourable Presidents”, 2004), IBM 1401, A User’s Manual (2006) and Fordlandia (2008), while also starting to write music for theatre, television and film. In 2010–11, for example, he gained wider renown with the soundtrack he wrote for The Miners’ Hymns, American director Bill Morrison’s wordless documentary depicting the ill-fated mining community of County Durham in the north-east of England.
Having settled in Berlin, Jóhannsson began a successful working relationship with Denis Villeneuve with the score for 2013’s Prisoners. He followed this with much-lauded soundtracks for Sicario (2015) and Arrival (2016). The former won him his second Oscar nomination – he had earned his first with the music he wrote for James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything (2014), a soundtrack which was also Grammy-nominated and won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score.
In 2016 Jóhannsson signed with DG, who issued both his final solo album, Orphée (that same year) and his final soundtrack album, The Mercy (a second collaboration with Marsh), released just a week before the composer’s death. Working closely with Jóhannsson’s family, friends and colleagues, DG released several posthumous albums, including Englabörn & Variations (2018); 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann (2019); and the soundtrack co-composed with Yair Elazar Glotman for Last and First Men (2020), a sci-fi film Jóhannsson also co‑wrote and directed. These have since been followed by, among others, the “contemporary oratorio” Drone Mass (2022); the large-scale orchestral work A Prayer to the Dynamo (2023); and, now, the insightful pianistic readings offered on this album by Alice Sara Ott.
