Press:

Mozartwoche Salzburg / Mozarteumorchester:

<< Ottensamer communicated dynamics, tempo and expression with precise body language and constant eye contact. The audience in the sold out Mozarteum was captivated: after just a few bars - and throughout the entire concert - the synergy between orchestra and conductor was palpable. Under the direction of Andreas Ottensamer, the gracefully precise and beautifully resonant Mozarteum Orchestra demonstrated world-class excellence. The thunderous applause culminated in a more than well-deserved standing ovation. >> Passauer Neue Presse / Helmut Rieger

Season Highlights:

In the season 24/25 Andreas gives his debuts with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg at the Mozartwoche, the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Grazer Philharmoniker, the Basel Sinfonieorchester, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic and more.

He will also return to conduct the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Münchener Kammerorchester, the Sinfonietta Cracovia and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra.

Earlier this year Andreas assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the BR Sinfonieorchester, as well as Christian Thielemann at the Vienna State Opera in a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin.

New Album:

His latest recording highlights some of the most beautiful clarinet and piano recital repertoire, for which he collaborated with his long term recital partner José Gallardo. listen here

Andreas Ottensamer has captured audiences and critics alike with his distinct musicianship and versatility as clarinetist, artistic director and conductor.

Ottensamer is considered one of the leading instrumentalists of our time and performs as a clarinet soloist in the major concert halls around the world with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Seoul Philharmonic and the Netherlands Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons, Sir Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Daniel Harding and Lorenzo Viotti.
He is a regular guest artist at festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival and the Festival de Pâques d’Aix en Provence.

In 2021 Ottensamer started his work as a conductor and has been awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize (1st Prize) of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy.
In the following two seasons he has joined Maestro Riccardo Muti in his Italian Opera Academy and assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the BR Sinfonieorchester and Christian Thielemann in a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.

Since then Ottensamer has conducted orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra Gulbenkian Lisbon, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Real Philharmonia Galicia, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Münchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre Metropolitain Montreal and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

In the season 24/25 Andreas will give his debuts with orchestras such as the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg at the Mozartwoche, the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Grazer Philharmoniker, the Basel Sinfonieorchester, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic. He will also return to conduct the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Münchener Kammerorchester, the Sinfonietta Cracovia and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra.

In 25/26 he will conduct Humperdinck’s opera “Hänsel und Gretel” in a new production at the Houston Grand Opera.

Ottensamer is artistic director of the Bürgenstock Festival in Switzerland. His artistic partnerships as a chamber musician include work with Yuja Wang, Seong-Jin Cho, Lisa Batiashvili, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Phillippe Jaroussky, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta and many more.

Andreas Ottensamer has an exclusive recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon since 2013, making him the first ever clarinetist on the Yellow Label. For his album Blue Hour, featuring works of Weber, Mendelssohn and Brahms, he partnered with the Berlin Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons and received his second Opus Klassik award as "Instrumentalist of the year". Together with Yuja Wang and Gautier Capucon he has recorded Brahms’ clarinet trio, released with DG in September 2022. His latest album is with his long term recital partner José Gallardo.

Andreas Ottensamer was born in 1989 in Vienna. He comes from an Austro-Hungarian family of musicians and was drawn to music early, receiving his first piano lessons when he was four. At the age of ten he began studying cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then changed to the clarinet in 2003.
In 2009 he interrupted his Harvard undergraduate studies to become a scholar of the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Ottensamer studied conducting with Professor Nicolas Pasquet (Weimar) and has taken masterclasses with Professor Johannes Schlaefli (Zürich).

Since March 2011, Ottensamer has held the position of principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.