Ivana Fišer (born Fischer; June 13, 1905 – September 7, 1967) was known as a
Croatian-Jewish conductor.
Background
Fišer was born in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
on June 13, 1905, into the family of the well-known Jewish
Croatian architect
Ignjat Fischer and his wife Helena (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Egersdorfer).
She attended elementary and music schools in Zagreb. Fišer graduated from the
Academy of Music, University of Zagreb
The Academy of Music ( or MUZA) is a Croatian music school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art and the Academy of Fine Arts.
It is the oldest an ...
, under
Fran Lhotka as the first female conductor in Croatia. Soon afterwards she left for
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, where she further refined her skills at the
Mozarteum University of Salzburg
Mozarteum University Salzburg (German language, German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality; th ...
.
From 1931 to 1934, Fišer worked as
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist with the
Croatian Music Institute
Croatian Music Institute (, HGZ) is the oldest music institution in Croatia. It is the second most important concert hall in Zagreb after the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.
Institution was founded in 1827 as "Musikverein" (English: musical soci ...
orchestra. As a conductor, Fišer debuted in 1933 while directing the comic opera ''
Bastien und Bastienne
' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), Köchel catalogue, K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It wa ...
'' with the
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra
The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Croatian: Zagrebačka filharmonija) is a Croatian orchestra based in Zagreb. The orchestra gives its concerts principally at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall and at the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb.
Hi ...
.
From 1939 to 1941, she led the Zagreb
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
orchestra. Until 1941, she also led the
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
philharmonic orchestra.
From 1947 to 1965, Fišer worked as a
prompter at the
Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb
The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (), commonly referred to as (), is a theatre, opera and ballet house located in Zagreb.
Overview
The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre opened in 1834, housed in the present-day Old City Hal ...
.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiser, Ivana
1905 births
1967 deaths
Musicians from Zagreb
Croatian Jews
Jews from Austria-Hungary
Croatian Austro-Hungarians
Croatian women conductors (music)
Academy of Music, University of Zagreb alumni
20th-century Croatian conductors (music)
20th-century women musicians