11
Fr
Fr
Alice Sara Ott
Opening concert with Benjamin Appl, Thomas Reif, Sào Soulez Larivière, Sebastian Klinger and Wies de Boevé
Gnossiennes
Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet, D 667 (“Trout Quintet”)
and songs by Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Ralph Vaughan Williams
Alice Sara Ott (Piano)
Benjamin Appl (Baritone)
Thomas Reif (Violin)
Sào Soulez Larivière (Viola)
Sebastian Klinger (Cello)
Wies de Boevé (Double Bass)
It is perhaps the most direct and immediate form of making music: house music. Making music together, both with and for one another, was very much in vogue in the 19th century. At the heart of this movement was Franz Schubert, the namesake of the so-called Schubertiade—informal gatherings in private settings where people not only ate, drank, and conversed but also performed music and literature.
Schubert himself often sat at the piano, performing some of his works for the first time in an intimate circle. Alice Sara Ott will bring a touch of this special atmosphere to life with her very own “Schubertiade” at the opening concert of the Klavier-Festival Ruhr 2025.
Making music together—pure, unfiltered, and focused on the essentials—perfectly suits the Munich-born pianist with German-Japanese roots, who has always followed her own path. Against the wishes of her mother, a pianist herself, she pursued a musical career like her sister, Mona Asuka. She prefers to play barefoot ever since her knees no longer fit under the keyboard of a historic grand piano once played by Franz Liszt due to high heels. A night owl and a summer person, she warms her fingers backstage in winter with a colorful Rubik’s cube or a gaming console. Beyond music, she has successfully ventured into design with a collection for the bag label JOST. Even after being diagnosed with MS at 30, she remained undeterred. In early 2024, she shared in an interview that she is doing well, has learned to give her body rest, and finds strength in her family and music.
For her return to the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, she gathers a musical family around her. In the spirit of the Schubertiade, this is a gathering of friends to explore something fresh and unconventional. At the heart of the program is Schubert’s “Trout Quintet”, which she performs with a distinguished ensemble of chamber musicians: Thomas Reif (violin), Sebastian Klinger (cello), Wies de Boevé (double bass), and Sào Soulez Larivière (viola), a rising star in major European concert halls. Between the quintet’s movements, Ott has also programmed a selection of songs by Schubert, Beethoven, and Vaughan Williams, featuring baritone Benjamin Appl, who further expands this artistic circle. The pieces and composers engage in a new dialogue, offering a fresh perspective on the familiar.
The intimate atmosphere of this special Schubertiade presents a wonderful opportunity to experience music up close. After all, as Alice Sara Ott puts it: “Music is the only place where we can truly meet—regardless of religion, cultural background, or political beliefs.”
Photo: Hannes Caspar
Making music together—pure, unfiltered, and focused on the essentials—perfectly suits the Munich-born pianist with German-Japanese roots, who has always followed her own path. Against the wishes of her mother, a pianist herself, she pursued a musical career like her sister, Mona Asuka. She prefers to play barefoot ever since her knees no longer fit under the keyboard of a historic grand piano once played by Franz Liszt due to high heels. A night owl and a summer person, she warms her fingers backstage in winter with a colorful Rubik’s cube or a gaming console. Beyond music, she has successfully ventured into design with a collection for the bag label JOST. Even after being diagnosed with MS at 30, she remained undeterred. In early 2024, she shared in an interview that she is doing well, has learned to give her body rest, and finds strength in her family and music.
For her return to the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, she gathers a musical family around her. In the spirit of the Schubertiade, this is a gathering of friends to explore something fresh and unconventional. At the heart of the program is Schubert’s “Trout Quintet”, which she performs with a distinguished ensemble of chamber musicians: Thomas Reif (violin), Sebastian Klinger (cello), Wies de Boevé (double bass), and Sào Soulez Larivière (viola), a rising star in major European concert halls. Between the quintet’s movements, Ott has also programmed a selection of songs by Schubert, Beethoven, and Vaughan Williams, featuring baritone Benjamin Appl, who further expands this artistic circle. The pieces and composers engage in a new dialogue, offering a fresh perspective on the familiar.
The intimate atmosphere of this special Schubertiade presents a wonderful opportunity to experience music up close. After all, as Alice Sara Ott puts it: “Music is the only place where we can truly meet—regardless of religion, cultural background, or political beliefs.”
Photo: Hannes Caspar
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Philharmonie
Huyssenallee 53
45128 Essen
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Alice Sara Ott
“Ott was a superb soloist, dazzling in the music’s more extreme virtuoso writing, exquisitely delicate in its moments of tender quietness.”
— The Guardian
Benjamin Appl (Bariton)
Hailed as ‘the most promising of today’s up-and-coming song recitalists’ (Financial Times), baritone Benjamin Appl is celebrated by audiences and critics alike for a voice that ‘belongs to the last of the old great masters of song’ with ‘an almost infinite range of colours’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung), ‘exacting attention to text’ (New York Times), and artistry that’s described as ‘unbearably moving’ (The Times). Named Gramophone Award Young Artist of the Year in 2016, Appl was a member of the BBC New Generation Artist scheme from 2014-16, as well as a Wigmore Hall Emerging Artist and ECHO Rising Star for the 2015-16 season, appearing at major venues throughout Europe, including the Barbican Centre London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wiener Konzerthaus, Philharmonie Paris and Cologne and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. He signed exclusively to SONY Classical in May 2016.
Thomas Reif (Violine)
From early baroque to contemporary music, German violinist Thomas Reif is equally sought after for his work as soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician. As of 2018 he is 1st coordinated concertmaster of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Sào Soulez Larivière
Franco-Dutch violist Sào Soulez Larivière is quickly building himself a thriving career as a versatile musician. Captivating audiences with his playing and original programming, he endeavours to broaden the accessibility and perception of classical music in our modern world.
Sebastian Klinger (Violoncello)
Born in Munich, Sebastian Klinger grew up in Spain and had his first cello lessons at the age of six. He later studied with Heinrich Schiff in Salzburg and Vienna as well as with Boris Pergamenshikov in Berlin.
Wies de Boevé
Widely regarded as one of the foremost double bass players in Europe, Wies de Boevé is the winner of six international music competitions including both the first prize and audience award at the ARD Competition Munich 2016 and first prize at the Bottesini Competition Crema 2017. In 2015 he became the first double bass player in history to win the top prize at the German Music Competition.
Philharmonic
The Philharmonie Essen is the largest concert hall in the Ruhr area and was extensively renovated between 2002 and 2004. The Alfried Krupp Hall, the building's central event room, seats 1,906 visitors...
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