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Appearing

con / Andreas Ottensamer

cello / Michiaki Ueno*

special collaboration / Members of PMF AMERICA, Members of the PMF Orchestra **

Song List

© Halina Jasinska

Andreas Ottensamer（con）

Andreas Ottensamer has captured audiences and critics alike with his distinct musicianship and versatility as a conductor, clarinetist, and artistic director.
In the 2025/26 season, Ottensamer makes his operatic debut with the Houston Grand Opera in a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. On the symphonic stage, he makes debuts with the Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony, Oxford Philharmonic, and Györ Philharmonic, and returns to the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Orchestre National de Mulhouse, Münchener Kammerorchester, and Sinfonietta Cracovia, amongst others. Recent highlights include debuts with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg at the Mozartwoche, the Grazer Philharmoniker, Basel Sinfonieorchester, Musikkollegium Winterthur, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and Naples Philharmonic.
In 2021, Ottensamer was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize (1st Prize) of the Gstaad Festival Conducting Academy. Since then, he has joined Maestro Riccardo Muti in his Italian Opera Academy, assisted Sir Simon Rattle with the BR Sinfonieorchester, Francois-Xavier Roth with the LSO, and Christian Thielemann in a production of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera. Ottensamer is considered one of the leading instrumentalists of our time and performs as a clarinet soloist in the major concert halls around the world with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, and Netherlands Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons, Sir Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Daniel Harding, and Lorenzo Viotti. He is a regular guest artist at festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and Festival de Pâques d’Aix en Provence. Ottensamer held the position of principal clarinetist with the Berliner Philharmoniker from 2011 to 2025.
Ottensamer is artistic director of the Bürgenstock Festival in Switzerland. In 2023 he curated the program of the Classic Revolution Festival at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea, consisting of symphonic and chamber music concerts including the KBS Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic.
He has an exclusive recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon, having released numerous recordings. For his album Blue Hour, featuring the Berliner Philharmoniker under Mariss Jansons, Ottensamer received his second Opus Klassik award as “Instrumentalist of the year” in 2019. His latest album Romanza with his long-term recital partner José Gallardo was released in 2025. Ottensamer was born in 1989 in Vienna. He comes from an Austro-Hungarian family of musicians and was drawn to music early, receiving his first piano lessons when he was four. At the age of ten he began studying cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then changed to the clarinet in 2003. In 2009 he interrupted his Harvard undergraduate studies to become a scholar of the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He studied conducting with Professor Nicolas Pasquet and Johannes Schlaefli.
After attending PMF 2008 as an Academy clarinetist, Ottensamer makes his return to PMF 2026 to conduct the PMF Orchestra in the Link Up Concert, and the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra joined by PMF musicians in the Host City Concert.

© Seiji_Okumiya

Michiaki Ueno*（cello）

Praised for his unique yet natural musicality and superlative technique, cellist Michiaki Ueno spellbinds audiences with his eloquent performances and charismatic stage presence. As the First Prize winner of the Geneva International Music Competition, where he also received three special awards including the Young Audience Prize for his sensational performance of the Lutosławski Cello Concerto, Ueno has firmly established himself as one of the most promising artists in the classical music scene.
As a highly sought-after soloist, Ueno has performed with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with renowned conductors including Charles Dutoit, Tugan Sokhiev, and Jonathan Nott. As a chamber musician, has also shared the stage with acclaimed artists such as Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, and Augustin Dumay.
Ueno has appeared at prominent international music festivals such as La Folle Journée de Nantes, Montpellier Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and Beethovenfest Bonn, where he was awarded the prestigious Beethoven-Ring in 2024. He is also a regular guest at the Argerich Music Festival in Beppu and the Takefu International Music Festival.
His recording career began ambitiously with the release of his debut album featuring the complete Bach Cello Suites, followed by ORIGIN, an album dedicated to unaccompanied works by Japanese composers. Furthermore, he has been honoured with numerous accolades in Japan, including the Idemitsu Music Award, the Nippon Steel Music Award, and the Hideo Saito Memorial Foundation Award.
Born in Paraguay in 1995, Ueno spent his early childhood in Spain. After moving to Japan, he made his debut as a soloist at the prestigious Suntory Hall at just 11 years old, performing the Lalo Cello Concerto. This led to his win at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, catapulting him onto the international stage, followed by first prizes at the Romanian International Music Competition and the International Johannes Brahms Competition.
Educated under the tutelage of Hakuro Mohri and Pieter Wispelwey, Ueno further honed his musicality as an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under the guidance of Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling. He is currently based in Düsseldorf.
Ueno performs on the 1730 "Feuermann" Antonio Stradivari cello, generously loaned by the Sasakawa Music Foundation, and an F. Tourte bow on loan from Hiroshi Sumino.
This is his second appearance at PMF, after performing as a soloist in Beethoven's Triple Concerto at PMF 2022.