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2024-26 he was Artistic Director of the Frank Martin Odyssey, curating an extensive series of concerts in Geneva to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. The celebration culminates in a new Netia Jones production of Frank Martin’s opera The Tempest at Geneva Opera, which Fischer will himself conduct.
Fischer has conducted orchestras across the globe, notably the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Firenze and leading chamber orchestras such as the Swedish Chamber, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. He takes a keen interest in 20th and 21st century music and has performed and commissioned many world premieres; in March 2027 he conducts the Ensemble Intercontemporain de Paris at the Cite de la Musique in Holliger’s epic Scardanelli Cycle.
Last season he conducted Wozzeck in concert with the Sao Paulo Symphony and returned to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with OSCyL. In 2027 he has an Asia focus, returning to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic and the Nagoya Philharmonic (in their anniversary season) and guesting with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall Taipei.
In the coming months he will release commercial recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony with the OSCyL, and the first disc of a Mahler cycle recorded in the studio with OSESP. Concluding a transformative 15 years in Utah - including the orchestra’s first visit to Carnegie Hall for the first time in 40 years, a Saint-Saëns cycle on Hyperion and many other highlights – in 2023 Fischer released on Hyperion Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux Étoiles (directly inspired by the awe-inspiring landscape of Utah State). The disc was shortlisted for the 2023 Gramophone Awards (orchestral category). Whilst Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales 2006-2012, Fischer appeared every year at the BBC Proms, toured internationally, and recorded for Hyperion, Signum and Orfeo. In 2012 he won the ICMA Award for his Hyperion recording of Frank Martin’s Der Sturm with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. His discography also includes a Beethoven disc with the London Philharmonic on the Aparté label.
Fischer started out as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera. His conducting career began in his 30s when he replaced an ailing colleague, subsequently directing his first few concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe where he was Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado. He spent his apprentice years in Holland and became Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra 2001-2006. He was Principal Guest of the Seoul Philharmonic 2017-2020 and Chief Conductor (now Honorary Guest) of the Nagoya Philharmonic 2008-2011.
2026/27 season - 480 words. Not to be altered without permission from Intermusica.