Andreas Ottensamer is an Austrian clarinetist born in 1989 who began musical studies in Vienna in piano and cello before turning to clarinet in 2003 under Johann Hindler; he also studied at Harvard University. In 2005 he co-founded the clarinet trio The Clarinotts with his father Ernst and brother Daniel, and he served as solo clarinetist of the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin before joining the Berlin Philharmonic as principal clarinet in March 2011.

Ottensamer built an international solo and chamber career alongside his orchestral post, collaborating with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Sol Gabetta, Yuja Wang, and pop musician Tori Amos, and released his Deutsche Grammophon debut album ‘Portraits’ in 2013. He stepped down as the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal clarinet in January 2025 to focus increasingly on a career as a conductor.