Clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer - selections from the album "Romanza" CD Review, June 22nd, 2025

Andreas Ottensamer is already a familiar figure to Romanian audiences: all his recordings have been featured on Radio România Muzical, and he has twice appeared in Bucharest as both soloist and conductor with the Radio Chamber Orchestra. At just 36 years old, he is one of the most renowned and charismatic clarinetists of our time, internationally acclaimed. Until January 2025, he was the principal clarinetist of the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he gave up in order to focus more on his solo and conducting career.

On May 30th, 2025, Andreas Ottensamer released Romanza, his sixth solo album for Deutsche Grammophon. The recording explores a repertoire united by a common mood of calm, reflection, and lyricism-the kind of atmosphere that perfectly suits a quiet weekend afternoon. Accompanying Ottensamer is his lifelong friend, the Argentine pianist José Gallardo. Interestingly, Ottensamer had already explored a similar introspective tone on his 2019 album Blue hour. With Romanza, he continues along this familiar and successful path, though here with an even greater sense of cohesion: unlike Blue hour, this new album features exclusively the clarinet-piano duo. Ottensamer reaffirms his status as a true star of the clarinet, distinguished by his warm sound, wide arches, and impeccable artistic conception-all sensitively supported by José Gallardo.