Biography

Austrian clarinettist and conductor Andreas Ottensamer is one of the most versatile and distinguished musicians of his generation. Internationally acclaimed both as a soloist and on the conductor’s podium, he has built a remarkable career that combines instrumental virtuosity, artistic curiosity and an increasingly prominent presence as a symphonic and operatic conductor.

Born in Vienna into a distinguished family of musicians, Ottensamer studied piano, cello and clarinet before continuing his musical education at Harvard University and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy. At the age of twenty-two, he was appointed Principal Clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic, becoming the youngest musician ever to hold that position in the orchestra’s history.

As a clarinet soloist, he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Seoul Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding and Lorenzo Viotti.

In recent years, Ottensamer has established himself as one of Europe’s most promising conductors. Following his First Prize at the Gstaad Conducting Academy, he has conducted orchestras including the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oxford Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler Orchestra and the Houston Grand Opera, where he makes his operatic debut with Hansel and Gretel during the 2025–2026 season.

An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Ottensamer has received both the ECHO Klassik and Opus Klassik awards for his acclaimed recordings, while his work as Artistic Director of the Bürgenstock Festival reflects his commitment to developing innovative concert programming and fostering dialogue between performers and audiences.

Equally admired for his elegance as a performer and his intellectual approach to music-making, Andreas Ottensamer represents a new generation of artists whose careers transcend traditional artistic boundaries.

At the XXI Cartagena International Music Festival, Andreas Ottensamer brings the rare perspective of a musician equally accomplished as a virtuoso instrumentalist and conductor, enriching the Festival with his exceptional artistry, versatility and musical vision.