Andreas Ottensamer

»Ottensamer conducts without a baton, with eye contact and precise body language regarding dynamics, tempo, and expression… With a smile on their faces and palpable joy in playing, [the members of the Mozarteum Orchestra] translate his eloquent gestures into graceful music.« Passauer Neue Presse, on Ottensamer’s debut with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg at Mozart Week 2025   As a virtuoso soloist, chamber musician, and principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Andreas Ottensamer has long made a name for himself. Now, he stands on the podium as an equally gifted and sought-after conductor. In January 2025, after 14 years, he stepped down from his position in Berlin to dedicate himself more fully to conducting. However, he remains true to his passion for clarinet playing and chamber music, continuing to captivate audiences with the expressiveness, technical brilliance, and unmistakable sonic magic that have long earned him the highest acclaim. Additionally, Ottensamer, together with pianist José Gallardo, with whom he shares a long-standing chamber music partnership, serves as Artistic Director of Switzerland’s Bürgenstock Festival. His other regular chamber music partners include renowned artists such as Lisa Batiashvili, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, and Yuja Wang. In March 2013, Andreas Ottensamer became the first clarinetist ever to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His debut album for the yellow label, *Portraits – The Clarinet Album*, released three months later, features concertos by Cimarosa, Spohr, and Copland, recorded with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. It also includes miniatures by Gershwin, Debussy, and Amy Beach. In 2015, *Brahms – The Hungarian Connection* followed, a personal exploration of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, embedded in works inspired by Hungarian folk music. For this album, Ottensamer was awarded the ECHO KLASSIK as »Instrumentalist of the Year.« His 2017 album *New Era* features concertos by father and son Johann and Carl Stamitz, Danzi’s Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon (with Albrecht Mayer), and two arrangements of arias from Mozart’s *Don Giovanni*. Ottensamer also interpreted Khachaturian’s Trio for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano together with Nemanja Radulović for the latter’s DG album *Baïka*, released in November 2018. Ottensamer’s next album, *Blue Hour*, released in 2019, combines arrangements of Mendelssohn’s *Songs Without Words* and pieces for clarinet and piano by Brahms, recorded with Yuja Wang. It also includes his interpretation of Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Mariss Jansons. For *Blue Hour*, Ottensamer was honored with the OPUS KLASSIK as »Instrumentalist of the Year.« In 2022, Ottensamer collaborated with Yuja Wang and cellist Gautier Capuçon. Together, the trio released the album *Works by Sergei Rachmaninoff & Johannes Brahms*, on which they perform Brahms’ Clarinet Trio Op. 114 and Cello Sonata No. 1 Op. 38, as well as Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata Op. 19. Ottensamer’s current DG album, *Romanza*, recorded with José Gallardo, spans a wide range from Brahms, Debussy, and Gershwin to Poulenc and Rachmaninoff, Rota, and other composers. Some pieces were originally composed for clarinet and piano, while others are presented in arrangements – several of which Ottensamer arranged himself. *Romanza* was released digitally on May 30, 2025. Current and upcoming highlights of Ottensamer’s 2024/25 season include his US conducting debut with the Naples Philharmonic in Florida; a summer program on the podium of the Graz Philharmonic for the orchestra’s season finale (May 20, 2025); a recital with José Gallardo at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (May 23); a concert at the Mozartfest Würzburg, where he will conduct his brother Daniel Ottensamer in Spohr’s Clarinet Concerto No. 4 (June 5); chamber music evenings with Gallardo and friends at the Bürgenstock Festival (June 6/7); concerts on a Japan tour as conductor of the Kobe Philharmonic and Sendai Philharmonic (July 12/18/19); and performances of Humperdinck’s *Hänsel und Gretel* at the Liszt Academy in Budapest (July 24–26). Andreas Ottensamer was born in Vienna in April 1989, the son of a distinguished Austrian-Hungarian musical family. His father, Ernst, was principal clarinetist of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic, and his older brother Daniel is now principal clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic. Andreas initially took piano lessons before studying cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 2003, he began studying clarinet with Johann Hindler, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic, and soon after stopped playing the cello. He made such rapid progress that just two years later, he formed an ensemble with his father and brother: The Clarinotts. Ottensamer’s decision was rewarded with successes in competitions and a first appearance with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra at the age of just 16. After finishing school in Vienna, he went to Harvard University as a student but interrupted his studies in October 2009 to join the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. The following year, he began his orchestral career as principal clarinetist of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and since March 2011, he has held the same position with the Berlin Philharmonic. Ottensamer only began his conducting activities a decade later. And already in 2021, he was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize by the Gstaad Conducting Academy. Subsequently, he worked with Riccardo Muti on Verdi’s *Requiem* (Ravenna, 2022) and *Un ballo in maschera* (Tokyo Spring Festival, 2023). In 2024, he assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – including the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ *Aquifer* – and Christian Thielemann in a production of *Lohengrin* at the Vienna State Opera. The list of orchestras he has conducted continues to grow and includes the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Munich Chamber Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Seoul Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, among others. 5/2025