Alice Sara Ott began recording with DG 13 years ago, she writes in the booklet, and her new recording, ‘Echoes of Life’, is her 10th release. It is the audio component of an interdisciplinary project that includes virtual architecture by Hakan Demirel, visual elements by Ahmet Doğu İpek, fashions by Sonia Trinkl and music composed specifically for the project by Francesco Tristano and by Ott herself. In addition, music of five other composers is interspersed among the 24 Preludes of Chopin’s Op 28. Though a recording might seem an unusual format for autobiography, Ott says it ‘reflects on the thoughts and personal moments that continue to influence my life’, including her diagnosis in late 2018 with multiple sclerosis.

The 20th- and 21st-century pieces serve as signposts among the Preludes, with corresponding rubrics in the notes, among them ‘Infant Rebellion’ for the Ligeti, ‘When the Grass was Greener’ for Rota and ‘No Roadmap to Adulthood’ for Gonzales. Ott’s gimlet focus, combined with her ability to imbue each piece with a unique atmosphere, creates compelling performances in works of admittedly varying quality. One of the most impressive is Tōru Takemitsu’s Litany, where adroit pedalling enhances the imagery of desolation and loss.

Among the Chopin Preludes, Ott brings a straightforward simplicity to some of the more lyrical pieces – the lento No 13 in F sharp, the allegretto No 17 in A flat and the cantabile No 21 in B flat, for instance – lending them an irresistible eloquence. Ethereal grace informs the vivace No 19 in E flat, while the moderato No 23 in F is all ease and charm. In some of the Preludes that foreground specific textures, however, Ott sacrifices shimmering surfaces for individual notes. The legato left-hand undulations of the vivace No 3 in G are rendered almost détaché to curious effect, while the shapes of the cascading roulades in the allegro molto No 5 in D seem sharp and bumpy. These moments are quickly forgotten when confronted with the fire and bravura of the allegro molto No 18 in F minor or the fleeting shiver of another allegro molto, No 10 in C sharp minor.

With all the wonderful playing here, one is left to wonder if the rather extraordinary method of delivery enhances or diminishes the musical message. Do contemporary perceptions require such elaborate packaging for Chopin lest he fade from relevance? Surely the answer will be a matter of individual taste.