Over the years, we have come to appreciate the versatility and exceptional artistry of the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the direction of Iván Fischer. Their mastery spans a vast repertoire—symphonic, operatic, chamber, and folk music—embracing styles from the Baroque to contemporary compositions. Their performances consistently exceed the highest standards, securing their place among the world’s most esteemed orchestras.
If there is one composer to whom this ensemble is most closely linked, it is undoubtedly Gustav Mahler. Their complete cycle of Mahler’s symphonies, recorded for Channel Classics, showcases a hypnotic attention to detail that unveils unexpected beauty—an achievement made possible by the extraordinary musicianship of the BFO and the visionary artistry of Fischer.
For the traditional Closing Concert in Piazza Duomo, the Budapest Festival Orchestra returns to Spoleto in full force to perform Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Composed during one of the happiest periods of his life, while deeply in love with Alma, Mahler intended this symphony—like all his others—to encompass the entire universe. And in the Fifth, that universe expands: the orchestration is monumental, the horizon broadens, and the journey stretches beyond an hour.
At the heart of this vast musical landscape lies the radiant fourth movement, the Adagietto, a tender love letter to Alma. Likely Mahler’s most famous and frequently performed work, the Adagietto has resonated far beyond the concert hall. It became a defining element of Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice (1971), was conducted by Leonard Bernstein at Robert Kennedy’s funeral in 1968, and, more recently, appeared on Cate Blanchett’s music stand in the 2023 Oscar-nominated film TÁR.
Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is one of those masterpieces that musicians approach with almost religious devotion, as if handling something infinitely precious, something that must not be broken.
Iván Fischer—conductor, composer, opera director, thinker, and educator—is widely regarded as one of the most visionary musicians of our time. As the founder of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, he has always placed music at the center of his artistic inquiry, reimagining concert formats and redefining the structure and working methods of the modern symphony orchestra.
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer, conductor
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 5 in C Diesis Minor
production Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Budapest Festival Orchestra
INFORMATION
Please note that dates and times may change.
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Iván Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 1983 together with Zoltán Kocsis. Thanks to its innovative approach to music and the uncompromising dedication of its musicians, the BFO has become the youngest ensemble to join the world’s top ten symphony orchestras. They are both present at the most important international concert venues and streaming platforms. The BFO has been recognized by the prestigious British Gramophone magazine three times: in 1998 and 2007 for the best recording, while in 2022 they were named Orchestra of the Year. The BFO’s most considerable successes are connected to Mahler: their recording of Symphony No. 1 was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2013. The BFO has also made a name for itself with its series of innovative concerts. The Autism-friendly Cocoa Concerts, the Surprise Concerts, Midnight Music performances, free open-air concerts in Budapest and the Community Weeks are all unique in their own ways. Another special feature of the orchestra is that its members regularly form a choir at their concerts. Each year, the BFO stages an opera production directed and conducted by Iván Fischer. The performances have been invited to the Mostly Mozart Festival, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; in 2013, the Marriage of Figaro led the New York Magazine’s list of the best classical music events of the year. The Vicenza Opera Festival, founded by Iván Fischer, debuted in the fall of 2018 at the Teatro Olimpico.
Iván Fischer is the founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He is an honorary conductor of Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Konzerthausorchester. In recent years he has also gained a reputation as a composer, he has directed a number of successful opera productions, and, in 2018, founded the Vicenza Opera Festival. The Berlin Philharmonic have played more than ten times under Fischer’s baton, and he also spends two weeks every year with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He is a frequent guest of the leading symphony orchestras in the US as well. As Music Director, he has led the Kent Opera and the Opéra National de Lyon, and was Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Many of his recordings have been awarded prestigious international prizes. Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society and Patron of the British Kodály Academy, and is an honorary citizen of Budapest. Iván Fischer has received many prestigious Hungarian and international awards and prizes, just a few examples: the government of the French Republic made him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, proclaiming him a Knight of the Order of Art and Literature, in 2006, he was honoured with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious arts award, in 2011, he received the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, Hungary’s Prima Primissima Prize and the Dutch Ovatie Prize. In 2013, he was granted Honorary Membership to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
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