Founded in 1983 the Budapest Festival Orchestra has established itself as one of the ten leading orchestras of the world. It is loved by audiences and praised by international critics for its intensive and emotionally gripping performances. Iván Fischer, as Music Director, has been directing the artistic work of the BFO for more than thirty years now. The Budapest Festival Orchestra has maintained its experimental spirit, shaping and reshaping orchestral work in the name of constant renewal.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra regularly performs in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Wien, Concertgebouw Amsterdam or Royal Albert Hall London. As a special guest the BFO is regularly invited to the Lucerne, Edinburgh and San Sebastian Festivals and to play at the BBC Proms and the Salzburger Festspiele. The BFO is also a returning guest to New York’s prestigious Mostly Mozart Festival. The BFO has won two Gramophone Awards, one of the most signi cant honours of the classical record industry and often referred to as the Oscars of classical music. The BFO was a Grammy award nominee in 2013 for its recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and received the Dutch Music Award in 2006 and in 2008. In 2014, the recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 received wide acclaim, being awarded both the Diapason d’Or and Italy’s Toblacher Komponierhäuschen for Best Mahler Recording.