Ádám Fischer is a Hungarian conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 of Jewish family origin. He is the general music director of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, with which he has recorded the complete Haydn symphonies for the Nimbus label, the first digital recording of the cycle. He is also Music Director of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra

Danish National Chamber Orchestra

The Danish National Chamber Orchestra is a small symphony orchestra consisting of 42 players...

.

Career

Ádám Fischer is an elder brother of the conductor Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...

. The two belonged to the children's choir of Budapest National Opera house, and sang as two of the three boys in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

Ádám Fischer studied piano and composition at the Bartok Conservatory in Budapest, and conducting with Hans Swarowsky

Hans Swarowsky

Hans Swarowsky was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth and Jewish descent.Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss...

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. He won first prize in the Milan Guido Cantelli Competition. His career began with opera conducting in Munich, Freiburg, and other German cities. In 1982 he made his Paris Opéra

Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...

 debut, leading Der Rosenkavalier

Der Rosenkavalier

Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...

, and in 1986 he made his debut at La Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

, Milan, leading Die Zauberflöte. Between 1987 and 1992 he was the general music director in Kassel.

He has led symphonic concerts since the mid-1970s with such orchestras as the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared the New York Mostly Mozart festival four times.

He began a long collaboration with the Vienna State Opera

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

 in 1973, and also has worked regularly with the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

, the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

, and elsewhere.

In 1987 Adam Fischer established the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra and started the Haydn Festival in the Austrian Eisenstadt. In July 1989, Fischer started the first Gustav Mahler Festivals in Kassel, and he directed as an artistic director. In 1998 Fischer was appointed chief conductor of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Fischer has recorded the complete Opere serie

Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 with this orchestra, and is currently recording Mozart's complete symphonies.

Adam Fischer has recorded for Nimbus, CBS, EMI, Hungaroton and Delta. In 1982 he won the Grand Prix du Disque.

Opposition to Hungarian media legislation and resignation from Hungarian State opera

At the end of 2010 Fischer resigned as Music Director of the Hungarian State Opera in protest against the allegedly repressive media laws introduced by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán is a Hungarian populist and conservative politician and current Prime Minister of Hungary...

. Speaking in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 on January 11 2011 he told reporters 'A lot of the attention has focussed on the new law but the problems run far deeper. Even more worrying are changes to the national constitution that are being drafted and the rise of anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia in Hungarian society'. He joined with Andras Schiff

András Schiff

András Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...

, Miklos Jancso

Miklós Jancsó

Miklós Jancsó is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter.Jancsó achieved international prominence from the mid-1960s onwards, with works including The Round Up , The Red and the White and Red Psalm .Jancsó's films are characterized by visual stylization,...

and others in an open letter condeming the Hungarian government's record on these issues.