Adam Fischer conducts Haydn & Mahler

“Fischer adds even more buoyancy by paying scrupulous attention to every detail of the rhythmic articulation.” – The Guardian

Born in Budapest, Adam Fischer is one of the leading conductors of our time. In 1987, he founded the Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn Philharmonie with musicians from his two home countries, Austria and Hungary, as well as the Haydn Festspiele in Eisenstadt as an international centre for the performance of Haydn’s music.

Whether in Bayreuth, at the Metropolitan Opera, or at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, with the Wiener or Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, or at the Salzburger Festspiele, Adam Fischer is recognised by audiences and musicians alike as a mediator between music and the outside world. In 2022, he was awarded with the International Classical Music Award for this lifetime achievements.

Adam Fischer acquired his profound understanding of the opera world and his unusually broad repertoire by taking his first steps as répétiteur (Graz) to Generalmusikdirektor (Freiburg, Kassel, Mannheim and Budapest). His international breakthrough came in 1978 when he took over from Karl Böhm, conducting ‘Fidelio’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Since then, he has led thrilling opera evenings at the world’s leading opera houses. His closest links are with the Wiener Staatsoper, where he was appointed Honorary Member in 2017.

Together with the Danish Chamber Orchestra, where he has been Chief Conductor since 1998, he has developed their very own unique style. With award-winning recordings of all Mozart symphonies and a complete Beethoven recording, Adam Fischer ventured into new territory in terms of musical interpretation, which attracted great international attention. Their recording of all Brahms’s symphonies (Naxos 2022) received great critical acclaim. Their most recent project is the recording of Haydn’s Paris and London symphonies for Naxos.

In 2006, Adam Fischer embarked on a new path when he founded the Wagner Days in Budapest: together with Gábor Zoboki, the architect of the Palace of Arts (MÜPA), he realised his idea of performing Wagner’s work in a concert hall using entire space in an all-encompassing artistic experience. The Budapest Wagner Days under Adam Fischer’s artistic leadership have established themselves as a world-class Wagner opera festival, which the New York Times called the “Bayreuth on the Danube”.

As Principal Conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Adam Fischer began a Haydn-Mahler cycle in 2015 which was also received with international enthusiasm. In addition to excellent reviews in all relevant media, his Mahler recordings with the orchestra received the highest distinctions with the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Award and the OPUS KLASSIK 2019 for best orchestra recordings of the year.

Adam Fischer regularly uses his success and his broad international audience to convey important messages about humanity and democracy. For his commitment he has received – among others – the renowned Wolf Prize of the Wolf Foundation in Jerusalem and the Gold Medal in the Arts from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington. He has been a member of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights for more than twenty years and since 2016, he has awarded the annual Human Rights Award of the Tonhalle Düsseldorf. Adam Fischer is also an Honorary Member of the Musikverein für Steiermark in Graz. He holds the honorary Austrian title of Professor, and he has received the Order of Dannebrog from the Queen of Denmark.

Besides his regular activities with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Danish Chamber Orchestra, and the Budapest Wagner Days, selected highlights of the 2024/25 season include appearances with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg (Salzburger Festspiele), Wiener Philharmoniker (Mozartwoche Salzburg), the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Brucknerfest Linz), and the Wiener Symphoniker (Musikverein Wien). Opera highlights include ‘Parsifal’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper, ‘Cosi fan tutte’, ‘Zauberflöte’, and ‘Rosenkavalier’ at the Wiener Staatsoper, and ‘Mitridate’ at the Hamburger Staatsoper.