Düsseldorfer Symphoniker

They play in Düsseldorf and give guest performances in the metropolises of Europe and Asia, they excel in great symphonic music and with subtle ensemble sound, they make music for children and young people and are committed to promoting young musicians: The Düsseldorf Symphony is the musical heart of Düsseldorf and an ambassador for our city throughout the world.

"Orchestra for Düsseldorf" – this is a claim that the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra makes 250 times a year. The orchestra with its unusual profile – it works in the Tonhalle and in the Deutsche Oper am Rhein with two opera houses – also carries Düsseldorf's reputation as a city of culture all over the world with its concert tours. In the 18th century, musicians such as Händel and Corelli worked with the "Düsseldorfer Hofkapelle" until the court was dissolved. In 1818, with the founding of the Städtischer Musikverein, an orchestral culture was once again established in Düsseldorf, attracting musicians such as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Robert Schumann. The orchestra became municipal in 1864 and is the second oldest municipal orchestra in Germany after Aachen.

The Düsseldorfer Symphoniker subsequently developed into one of the leading and largest orchestras in Germany, whose directors after the reconstruction in 1945 included Heinrich Hollreiser and then conductors such as Eugen Szenkar, Jean Martinon, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Henryk Czyz, Willem van Otterloo, Bernhard Klee, David Shallon, Salvador Mas Conde, John Fiore and Andrey Boreyko. Adam Fischer has been Principal Conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker since 2015. Alexandre Bloch worked alongside him as Principal Guest Conductor for five years, with Alpesh Chauhan taking over this position for the 2021/2022 season.

The orchestra toured Spain in 2011, performed at the Beethoven Easter Festival (Poland) in 2012 and wowed audiences in Moscow. In 2014, the symphony orchestra made its debut at the Vienna Musikverein, and in May 2015, they were celebrated at nine concerts in Tokyo. In 2017/18, the symphony orchestra performed in Arnhem and Moscow and was invited back to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. In 2018/19, the orchestra played in Budapest and celebrated great success on a tour of Spain with five concerts – as well as on another trip to Spain in April 2022. Their most recent guest appearance took the symphony orchestra with Adam Fischer to Budapest again at the beginning of 2023.

In March 2020, the recording of Gustav Mahler's complete symphonic works was completed under Adam Fischer’s direction for the AVI label in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk. Two CDs from this cycle won awards in 2019: the recording of the First Symphony received the BBC Music Award and that of the Third an Opus Klassik award.

Adam Fischer

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, and at the same time 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, whether with the Wiener or Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment or at the Salzburger Festspielen: 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 the classic career path steps from répétiteur (Graz) to Generalmusikdirektor (Freiburg, Kassel, Mannheim und Budapest). His international breakthrough came in 1978 when he took over the baton from Karl Böhm, conducting “Fidelio” at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Since then he has been a guarantor of thrilling opera evenings at all leading opera houses of the world. His closest links are with the Wiener Staatsoper where he was appointed Honorary Member in 2017.

Together with the Danish Chamber Orchestra who’s Chief Conductor he is since 1998, he has developed their very own unique style. With a recording of all Mozart symphonies (ICMA 2015) and an award-winning complete Beethoven recording (ICMA Recording of the Year 2020, nominated for an OPUS KLASSIK 2020) Adam Fischer ventured into new territory in terms of musical interpretation to enthusiastic international acclaim. Their complete recording of Brahms’s Symphonies (released 2022) has received great critical acclaim.

Adam Fischer also embarked on a completely new path in 2006 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 by including the entire hall in an all-round artistic experience. The Budapest Wagner Days under Adam Fischer’s artistic leadership have established themselves as a world-class Wagner opera festival which has been named “Bayreuth on the Danube” by the New York Times.

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 the broad international public for important messages about humanity and democracy. For his commitment he received - amongst 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. Adam Fischer is 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 2023/24 season include appearances at the Salzburger Festspiele, concerts with the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Konzerthaus Wien and in Lucca, with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Musikverein Wien, a tour with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, a new production of „La clemenza di Tito“ at the Staatsoper Hamburg, as well as „Der fliegende Holländer“ in Hamburg and „Le nozze di Figaro“ at the Staatsoper Wien.