Clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer Steps Down from Berlin Phil to Focus on Conducting

Ottensamer is a former winner of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy's Neeme Järvi Prize

Andreas Ottensamer has today announced on social media that he will be stepping down as principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, in order to fully dedicate his time to being a conductor.

"The clarinet will remain part of my musical life - as chamber musician and soloist," Ottensamer said. "The past 14 years with this wonderful orchestra have been incredible - an experience of a lifetime, full of musical highlights I will always hold dear to my heart. The musicianship of the Berlin Philharmonic, their distinct way of making music, has become part of my own musical DNA and I’m proud and excited to carry this with me on my future path as conductor and musician."

Ottensamer has served as principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2011. As a soloist and chamber musician, Ottensamer has worked with Yuja Wang, Seong-Jin Cho, Lisa Batiashvili, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Phillippe Jaroussky, Gautier Capuçon, and Sol Gabetta.

In 2021, he made his conducting debut and won the Neeme Järvi Prize of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy. During the following two seasons, he joined Maestro Riccardo Muti in his Italian Opera Academy, assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the BR Sinfonieorchester, and assisted Christian Thielemann in a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.

Ottensamer has since 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.

This season, he 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.

 

 

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