Otto Gerdes (born January 20, 1920 in Cologne and died June 15, 1989) was a German conductor and record producer. He studied music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, including conducting with Hermann Abendroth. He conducted opera in Berlin, Dresden, Koblenz, Leipzig, and Munich. He also conducted the radio orchestras of Baden-Baden and Cologne and led concerts with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. In 1956 he became a record producer for Deutsche Grammophon and 1963 the label's artistic director. His conducting for that label began when he filled in for an ailing conductor, recording excerpts from the opera Eugene Onegin.