Interview with Alice Sara Ott (Manchester & The Final Concert)

What drew you to become a mentor on series four of The Piano?

“I love the idea that a piano - an instrument that requires conscious attention and listening - is placed in one of the busiest environments imaginable: a train station. It brings together two very contrasting worlds and gives people an active choice between them.
 

I’m so curious about how the pianists connect with the instrument, the space around them, and the people who stop in the middle of their daily lives to listen to them.

There is something very honest and unpredictable about those encounters, and that is what makes the programme so fascinating to me.”

Tell us about your connection to music. What does the piano mean to you?

“Music, for me, brings together strangers with different backgrounds, opinions and beliefs, and unites them in a collective act of listening and trust. The audience trusts the performer, and the performer trusts the audience. Only together can an atmosphere be created in which music can unfold.

Being united through music does not mean agreeing on everything. Rather, it is about showing respect for one another, being open-minded, and accepting complexity without reducing it or looking away from it, even when it is not immediately understandable.

In a world dominated by mistrust, noise and constant distraction, there is something remarkable about a group of strangers willing to listen together.''

What do you hope to see from this year’s amateur pianists in Manchester Piccadilly Station?

“I can’t wait to discover different personalities through the performances, get to know their stories and reasons for choosing the piano as a means of expression, and ultimately be taken on a musical journey.

What moves me in a performance is not perfection, but excitement, unpredictability, and honesty.”