The Anti-Orchestra

Ivan Fischer is not a conductor who is content to do things by someone else’s rulebook. “In 1983, when he was in his early 30s, Fischer decided to found his own orchestra and run it on very different lines from anything that had gone before. More than two decades later, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has become one of the world’s great ensembles, playing to packed houses at home and astounding audiences abroad with its brilliance and intensity.” And yet, the organization and culture of the orchestra are like nothing most musicians ever experience, emphasizing individual accomplishment as much as teamwork.