Ottensamer first gained his orchestral experience as substitute clarinet in the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic and is a former member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.
In 2002 he received a Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship from the Vienna Philharmonic.
He first played with the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1978, before becoming a principal clarinetist in 1983.
In September 2000 he accepted a new position as principal trombonist of the Vienna State Opera/Vienna Philharmonic, on an equal footing with Dietmar Küblböck.
Halsey has also been involved with numerous recordings, including a live recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the CBSC and the Vienna Philharmonic, under Simon Rattle.
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He performed on the streets of Sydney, through to performances in front of François Mitterrand and with many symphonies around the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall, as well as many other locations in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
The miniseries contains performances of all of Beethoven's symphonies as well as several overtures, a string quartet that Bernstein re-orchestrated for the entire string section of the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Missa Solemnis, all conducted by Bernstein.
His famous Decca Das Lied von der Erde with Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Patzak, and the Vienna Philharmonic was made in May, 1952, and he recorded it again in studio with the New York Philharmonic in 1960.
Café Sperl was featured in the 1995 movie Before Sunrise, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and in a 2011 DVD of the Vienna Philharmonic playing the music of Johann Strauss, Fritz Kreisler and others.
The first Festival concentrated mainly on classical music, a highlight being concerts given by the Vienna Philharmonic, reunited with their erstwhile conductor Bruno Walter who had left Europe after the Nazi occupation of his homeland.
The Haus der Musik is located in the Palace of Archduke Charles, where Otto Nicolai, founder of the Vienna Philharmonic, lived around 150 years ago.
Since its foundation the festival features concerts by the Festival's resident orchestra, recitals by soloists and concerts by guest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.
Notable concerts include those with the Vienna Philharmonic under Riccardo Muti, Fabio Luisi with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome, Nicola Luisotti with the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with the Wiener Symphoniker.
In 2005, together with father Ernst Ottensamer and his older brother Daniel Ottensamer (both solo clarinettists of the Vienna Philharmonic), formed the clarinet trio The Clarinotts.
The first prize winner of several competitions with the instruments of clarinet, piano and cello, Ottensamer has performed as soloist and chamber musician worldwide with partners such as the Vienna Virtuosi (members of the Vienna Philharmonic), the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and performers including Leif Ove Andsnes, Angelika Kirchschlager, Julian Rachlin and Yo-Yo Ma.
He died in 1954 while on tour with the Vienna Philharmonic in Mexico City, and is buried alongside his wife, singer Viorica Ursuleac, who died in 1985, in Ehrwald, Austria.
His eldest son Daniel Ottensamer is also principal clarinet with the Vienna Philharmonic and youngest son Andreas Ottensamer is principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic.
A number of prominent flautists, such as Walter Auer of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Julien Beaudiment of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, John Curran of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, and Young-ji Song of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, play Sankyo flutes.