Iván Fischer

…Fischer… rarely pushes too hard. The orchestral sound is lean but not undernourished, allowing for even balance between contesting lines - outstanding in the funereal coda of the first movement... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2006, 4 out of 5 starsMore…

As vivid a performance as one would expect. That stylishly lazy trombone, a dying monster, is emblematic of the characteristic licence the conductor gives to his splendid Budapest players…the... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2017, 4 out of 5 starsMore…

…Fischer's feeling of the Symphony's supple architecture, his ability to caress a phrase or point out a delicious colour without losing the sense of the larger flow, make this one of the most... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2009, 5 out of 5 starsMore…

It is the flavour of this Concerto for Orchestra that wins the day. Just sample the subtle portamento that spices the string line at bars 52-3 (2'36'') of the first movement, and the sombre... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

You can always expect insights from Iván Fischer's energised Budapest Festival Orchestra, and he has his own distinctive view on this most traumatic and ultimately transcendent of symphonies…for... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2015More…

Fischer is alive to the magical atmosphere of Felix Mendelssohn’s score and nowhere more keenly than at the start of the overture, where the four wind chords are extended beyond their usual... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2018, 4 out of 5 starsMore…

Right from the opening pp tremolando you can tell that as an interpretation this is going to be something off the beaten track. Rather than cue the familiar shimmering haze, Fischer prefers... — Gramophone Magazine, August 2014More…

As Mandarins go, they don't come more miraculous than this – a vivid, no-holds-barred performance. Everything tells: the flavour is right, the pacing too, and the sound has a toughened, raw-edged... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…