Press:

<<Ottensamer examined Humperdinck’s score as a repository of considerable musical values – and achieved beautiful results.
He showed great ability to inspire the orchestra and technically proves to be a masterful opera conductor.>>

<< 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. >>

Season Highlights:

In the 2025-26 season, Ottensamer makes his operatic debut with Houston Grand Opera in a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. On the symphonic stage, he makes debuts with Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony, Oxford Philharmonic and Györ Philharmonic. He also returns to Tonkünstler Orchestra, Orchestre National de Mulhouse, Münchener Kammerorchester, Symphonieorchester Braunschweig, Sinfonietta Cracovia, National Taiwan Symphony, Istanbul State Symphony and Filarmonica Banatul Timisoara, amongst others.

New Album:

His latest DG recording Romanza together with his long term recital partner José Gallardo, highlights some of the most beautiful clarinet and piano recital repertoire. listen here

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

In the 2025-26 season, Ottensamer makes his operatic debut with Houston Grand Opera in a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. On the symphonic stage, he makes debuts with Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony, Oxford Philharmonic and Györ Philharmonic and returns to Tonkünstler Orchestra, Orchestre National de Mulhouse, Münchener Kammerorchester, Sinfonietta Cracovia, amongst others. Recent highlights include debuts with Mozarteumorchester Salzburg at the Mozartwoche, Grazer Philharmoniker, Basel Sinfonieorchester, Musikkollegium Winterthur, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic.

In 2021, Ottensamer was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize (1st Prize) of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy. Since then, he has joined Maestro Riccardo Muti in his Italian Opera Academy, assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the BR Sinfonieorchester, Francois-Xavier Roth with the LSO and Christian Thielemann in a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.

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. Ottensamer has held the position of principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2025.

Ottensamer is artistic director of the Bürgenstock Festival in Switzerland. In 2023 he curated the program of the Classic Revolution Festival at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea, consisting of symphonic and chamber music concerts including the KBS Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic.

He has an exclusive recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon, having released numerous recordings. For his album Blue Hour, featuring the Berlin Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons, Ottensamer received his second Opus Klassik award as "Instrumentalist of the year" in 2019. His latest album Romanza with his long-term recital partner José Gallardo has been released in 2025.

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. He has studied conducting with Professor Nicolas Pasquet and Johannes Schlaefli.