The Haydn Philharmonic – orchestra in residence at Esterházy Palace - was founded by Ádám Fischer in 1987 as the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic, which was made up of members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Hungarian National Philharmonic. It was Fischer’s intention – before the fall of the “Iron Curtain” – to bring together the best musicians originating  from these two countries in order to musically overcome the border by playing the works of Joseph Haydn.

Starting with the season 15/16 Nicolas Altstaedt has taken position as Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonic. Highlights of the season 16/17 with Nicolas Altstaedt include the performance of Haydn’s Creation at Esterházy Palace Eisenstadt broadcasted live through the audio-visual streaming platform fidelio and ORF3, as well as an extensive tour through China. Besides this the orchestra performed with Marc Minkowski, Alexander Lonquich, Francois Leleux, Sharon Kam andMikko Franck at Esterházy Palace and at venues like MÜPA Budapest, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the  Dortmund Konzerthaus.

Outside the Esterházy Palace Eisenstadt the orchestra has made a name for itself thanks to numerous tours and performances besides in Austria and Hungary throughout Europe and in the USA, Japan, Korea and China. Invitations to the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, the Budapest MÜPA, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the Musikverein Graz, the Tonhalle Zürich, Victoria Hall Geneva, Festival Hall Baden-Baden, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Auditorio Nacional Madrid and Palau de la Musica Barcelona, the London BBC Proms or the New York “Mostly Mozart” Festival and many others are proof of the ensemble’s development as an internationally highly acclaimed orchestra.

Between 1987 and 2001 the orchestra recorded all of Haydn’s Symphonies under the direction of Ádám Fischer for Nimbus records; the recordings of the Symphonies, Nos. 40 to 54, earned the accolade of “Best of the Year” from the English music magazine Gramophone. Between 2004 and 2008 Ádám Fischer and the Haydn Philharmonic re-recorded the “London” symphonies by Haydn which were awarded in 2006 and 2008 with the prestigious “Echo Klassik” award. The recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with Sharon Kam received a Diapason D’or in 2011.

The Haydn Philharmonic is the resident orchestra in Festival Maribor 2018 and 2019.