Iván Fischer in an interview

"Where speech ends, music begins."

The Hungarian Iván Fischer is one of the world's most visionary and successful conductors. He collaborates with numerous renowned orchestras worldwide and was opera director at the Opéra de Lyon and Kent Opera in Great Britain. In 1983, Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra in his homeland, where he remains music director. Since August 2012, he has been chief conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. More recently, Fischer has also been active as a composer.

Classicpoint.ch: You come from Hungary and live half the time there and half the time in Berlin. How do you perceive the cultural differences?
There are numerous ones: large country – small country, global language – isolated language, East – West, rationality – inspiration, etc. But there are also similarities. Both capital cities are full of foreigners and full of culture; art, in particular, is everywhere.

You worked with Harnoncourt. Where did you disagree with him?
I agreed with him that music is a means of communication—of ideas, thoughts, feelings. Music isn't a drug that just sounds beautiful. Harnoncourt used the term "sound rhetoric." I would like to go a step further and say that where speech ends, music begins. Because music also communicates something that we cannot express with words.

You founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 1983 and have shaped it into a top-tier orchestra. What distinguishes this orchestra from other top orchestras?
The most striking difference is its innovative approach, because the BFO is deeply engaged in exploring what the orchestra of the future will look like. The BFO possesses the highest quality, but a constant spirit of experimentation sets us apart from top orchestras that primarily focus on preserving tradition.

You've developed your own seating arrangement. Can you explain the advantages?
This is just one of many reforms. Using different heights, we compensate for volume differences, such as between woodwind and brass instruments. The woodwinds sound better and cleaner when they have the bass, and not the brass, positioned close to their necks. The double basses play and sound better side by side than in a cluster. The second violin is freed from being suppressed on my right side.

In Hungary, you have major problems with the minorities. You and your orchestra have developed aid projects. You've also organized refugee assistance, trucks, accommodation, food, blankets, etc. What is the current situation?
There are hardly any refugees there now. Instead, there are almost a million Sinti and Roma, most of whom are poor and have few opportunities.

You and your musicians perform in forgotten, taboo places. Can you tell us a little about them?
We regularly visit abandoned synagogues. They're mostly located in villages and towns that were once considered "Jew-free." We play for the local population, who know very little about the past. A rabbi tells them about their only Jewish neighbors and about the synagogue's function. Some have been beautifully restored with donations from emigrated Jews or with government support; others are ruins, storage rooms, or sports halls.

What is your main task as a conductor?
Music is my miracle cure. My purpose is to serve society. The orchestra is my family.

You've also been composing for 18 years. How would you describe your style?
I mix many styles; the result is somewhat eclectic. Nevertheless, my best friends say that my music has something personal about it. When I hear that, I'm pleased because I hope that the personal element lies not in the language, but in the content.

You once said in an interview that you don't feel obligated to perform contemporary music. What is your opinion of the quality of contemporary works?
Yes, I find "obligation" counterproductive. If things continue this way, a three-way relationship can develop in which the composer writes boring music, the audience gets bored, and the conductor programs it because of their obligation. I prefer to feel an obligation to the cultural needs of the audience.
As for quality, you can't generalize. There is beautiful music and ugly music. Tonality is slowly winning out over atonality. Atonality will probably go down in history, like other failed experiments of the twentieth century. But there are also wonderful atonal works.

at the Verbier Festival . What does Wagner's music mean to you in general?
He was one of the greatest geniuses of European culture. His creativity and originality are incredible. He created an entire world.

Could you perhaps tell us something personal about each of the individual works?

• The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, Overture: Here, two worlds collide: tradition and romantic melody. Both are fantastically beautiful.
• Parsifal, Good Friday Spell: Pure poetry. When Wagner is lyrical, he is very sensitive.
• Tristan and Isolde, Prelude and Liebestod: It is best to read Schopenhauer on this subject.
• Götterdämmerung: Sunrise, Siegfried's Rhine Journey, Siegfried's Death March and Strong Logs, Brünnhilde's Final Scene

Unfortunately, we can't perform the entire Ring cycle. Or perhaps we should?

Interview by Florian Schär | Classicpoint.ch | June 1, 2016

Next concerts

August 21, 2026 - Summer Festival: Budapest Festival Orchestra;
2026 - Summer Festival: In the Middle;
September 24, 2026 - Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra Sz 116;
- Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Iván Fischer (conductor);
November 5, 2026 - Jonathan Kelly (oboe), Stefan Schweigert (bassoon), Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin), Bruno Delepelaire (cello), Berlin Philharmonic, Iván Fischer (conductor);
November 17, 2026 - Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer (conductor);
January 21, 2027 - Kirill Gerstein (piano), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Iván Fischer (Conductor)
March 4, 2027 - Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97 "Rhenish"
March 5, 2027 - Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Iván Fischer (Conductor)
April 5, 2027 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
April 10, 2027 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
April 30, 2027 - Vera-Lotte Boecker (Soprano), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Iván Fischer (Conductor)
May 24, 2027 - Nicolas Altstaedt (Cello), Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer (Conductor)
July 11, 2027 - Open-Air