AndreasOttensamer
- Conductor
- Clarinet


About Andreas
Artistic Director: Bürgenstock Festival
Andreas Ottensamer has captured audiences and critics alike with his distinct musicianship and versatility as conductor, artistic director and clarinettist.
In the 2023-2024 season, Andreas will give conducting debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in a program entirely dedicated to Johannes Brahms, Orchestre Metropolitain Montreal as their Artist in Residence of the season, Seoul Philharmonic, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Sofia Philharmonic, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt, Münchner Kammerorchester, Janáček Philharmonic and the Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Ottensamer will return to conduct the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, having made his Asian conducting debut there in 2023. He will also return to Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra in three programmes, the Aichi Chamber Orchestra and the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra.
Recent conducting highlights include Seoul’s KBS Symphony Orchestra and collaborations with orchestras such as the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, the Prague Philharmonia, the Orquestra Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Real Philharmonia Galicia and the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse. In December 2022 Andreas joined Maestro Riccardo Muti to work on Verdi‘s Messa da Requiem as part of his Italian Opera Academy in Ravenna, Italy and in March 2023 he joined Maestro Muti for the production of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera at the Tokyo Spring Festival. In 2021 Ottensamer was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy.
His artistic partnerships as a chamber musician include work with Yuja Wang, Seong-Jin Cho, Lisa Batiashvili, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Phillippe Jaroussky, Gautier Capuçon and Sol Gabetta. He regularly performs 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 is Artistic Director of the Bürgenstock Festival and has held the position of principle clarinettist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 2011.
Contact
For conductor enquiries

Edward Pascall
For clarinet enquiries

Ollie Haines
For availability and enquiries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Alexander Hollensteiner
For contracts, logistics and press

Joy Pidsley
Representation
General management: Askonas Holt
Spain: Duetto Management
Japan: Hirasa Ltd
China / Taiwan / Korea: New Aspect
Season Highlights
Video
- Playing
Andreas Ottensamer - Brahms, Haydn Variations
Credit: NHK Symphony Orchestra
Andreas Ottesnamer - Brahms, Hungarian Dances No.6 & No.5
Credit: NHK Symphony Orchestra
Andreas Ottensamer
Credit: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra / Budapest Festival Academy / Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra / Ray Chen
Weber "Oberon" Overture
Credit: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Weber, Clarinet Concerto No.1
Andreas Ottensamer performs Weber's Clarinet Concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Mariss Jansons. Credit: Berliner Philharmoniker
KBS: Behind the scenes of Andreas Ottensamer's performance at Masters Series III
Credit: KBS Symphony Orchestra
Artie Shaw, Jazz Clarinet Concerto
Credit: Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic
Andreas Ottensamer - Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 85
Credit: Deutsche Grammophon
News
Press
Mozartwoche Salzburg
Mozarteum SalzburgFeb 2025[Mozart‘s] cheerful Symphony in A Major (KV 201) was interpreted with a refreshingly delicate lightness. Ottensamer conducted without a baton, communicating dynamics, tempo, and expression with precise body language and constant eye contact...The musicians of the Mozarteum Orchestra clearly enjoyed his direction. Smiling and with visible delight in their playing, they transformed his eloquent gestures into graceful music. The audience in the fully-occupied Great Hall of the Mozarteum was enraptured by this relaxed and concentrated interaction. After just a few bars - and throughout the entire concert - you could feel the synergy between an orchestra in top form and a well-prepared conductor. The music-making seemed like a lively conversation between confidants. The audience, listening in fascination, followed this spellbound and applauded frenetically after each piece. 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
- 04 February 2025
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5
Istanbul State Symphony OrchestraDec 2024Andreas Ottensamer conducted the symphony with finesse...and a great sense for balance between the different instruments of the orchestra. This concert was not only a joy to listen to - it turned out to be an unforgettable experience. The conductor, soloist and orchestra members were in perfect harmony.
- Cumhuriyet
- 15 December 2024
Mozart: Requiem
Stadttheater Wiener NeustadtDec 2024a Requiem that was as transparent as it was luminous - and a conductor who was as energetic as he was stormy. With energetic gestures ... plenty of verve in his hands and at times almost a bit of jazz in his legs, [Ottensamer] conducted a brisk Kyrie, an even brisker, no: a frenzied “Dies Irae”, in which anger almost flew around your ears, a wonderful “Tuba mirum”, a tender “Recordare”, a gripping “Confutatis”, an almost eerie “Lacrimosa” - and a luminous “Lux aeterna”.
- Niederösterreichische Nachrichten
- 06 December 2024
Orchestre Metropolitain: Brahms, Holmès & Schumann
La Maison SymphoniqueOct 2023Ottensamer’s conducting captured the essence of springtime with gusto mixed with grace, leading the orchestra through a symphonic journey that was nothing short of breathtaking.
- Mountain Lake
- 16 October 2023
The degree of give and take between Genisson, Ottensamer and the OM strings (particularly leader Yukari Cousineau) was consistently meritorious. Throughout, Ottensamer impressively sculpted an array of interpretive arcs.
Blue Hour
Deutsce GrammonphonMar 2019Andreas Ottensamer ... brings such a velvety tone on all registers, his first entrance after the short orchestra introduction sounds almost seductive. Ottensamer makes perfect sense of the compact, classically built first movement (adding small cadenzas to allow the orchestra entrances sound more effective). The slow movement is the highlight of this performance, with the orchestra accompaniment lovingly supportive and allowing the soloist to play with the utmost sensitivity.