Rudolf Karl Fischer (13 July 1913,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

– 29 July 2003) was a German pianist, pedagogue and rector at the

Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

Biography

Fischer was rector of the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre from 1948 to 1973. He initiated the

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1 ...

, Leipzig in 1964 and served as the president of the competition until 1973. Fischer was president of the "Association Européene de Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musik-Hochschulen" between 1968 and 1974. As a performer he played with the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, Leipzig and the Staatskapelle Dresden and made several recordings. He was also a member of the Schumann-Gesellschaft,

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

and the

Neue Bachgesellschaft The Neue Bachgesellschaft, or New Bach Society, is an organisation based in Leipzig, Germany, devoted to the music of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It was founded in 1900 as the successor to the Bach Gesellschaft, which between 1850 and 1900 ...

, Leipzig. 1913 births 2003 deaths Musicians from Leipzig People from the Kingdom of Saxony German classical pianists Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit 20th-century German pianists East German musicians {{pianist-stub