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Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra from September 2001, the Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer was born in 1957 and began his musical career as a flautist, studying with Aurèle Nicolet. The influence of Harnoncourt and Abbado, with whom he collaborated extensively as solo flautist of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and at the Zurich Opera, was crucial to his development as a musician and in 1992 led to his decision to dedicate himself entirely to conducting. At the start of his career he was a frequent guest-conductor with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and since then became much sought-after for his stylistically sensitive and exciting performances of the classical repertoire, by orchestras such as the Lausanne Chamber, Australian Chamber, Northern Sinfonia and Dutch Radio Chamber, all of whom invited him back in 2002. In June 2001 he made his Japan debut with the Kanazawa Chamber Orchestra, who also immediately reinvited him.
His gift in motivating musicians and his interest in a broader repertoire led subsequently to engagements with the NDR Hamburg, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Lyon, Capitole de Toulouse, Dutch Radio Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Hallé Orchestra, and as Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra he conducted a very wide repertoire including contemporary works and all the Stravinsky ballets, as well as the Romantic repertoire. In November 2001 he conducted for the first time the BBC Symphony Orchestra, who reengaged him immediately for a return visit later the same season. In 2002/3 his debut appearances include: Swedish Radio Symphony, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Scottish Chamber, Orquesta Sinfonica di Milano, RSI Lugano, Orchestre National de Montpellier, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and looking further ahead he will also conduct for the first time next season the Berlin Symphony and Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, and returns to RSO Saarbrücken.
In his opening (2001/2) season as Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, Fischer toured with the Ulster Orchestra to Prague and then to New York for a major event in the "UK in US" festival. They also embarked upon a Francaix series together for Hyperion Records, and had excellent reviews for the first disc which was released in Spring 2002. In the first 3 years of his tenure, Fischer mounts cycles of Mendelssohn, Schubert and Beethoven, with complementary programming strands of Romantic and contemporary repertoire, including a commissioning programme featuring Northern Irish composers.
Fischer takes a great interest not only in the 20th century classics but also in contemporary scores, and has conducted many world premieres, including opera. He recently conducted concerts with the Ensemble Modern in Berlin and Frankfurt, and last season conducted at the Ultima contemporary music festival in Oslo. He is a strong advocate of composers from his native Switzerland, particularly of Holliger, Honegger, and Frank Martin; he interpreted Martin’s oratorio "Golgotha" in the prestigious VARA matinée series at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and conducted 18 of Martin’s works in one day in a special celebration, also in Holland. His disc for Deutsche Grammophon conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe playing works by Frank Martin was nominated for a Gramophone Award. Fischer has also made recordings for several other companies, including ASVand Chandos Records, and in Spring 2002 Edel Classics released a disc recorded with the Symphonie Orchester NDR Hanover.
Thierry Fischer appears by arrangement with Intermusica Artists’ Management.
February 2003
 short bio
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Thierry Fischer conductor
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