Fistoulari was born into a musical family in
Kyiv,
Russian Empire, now
Ukraine. at a charity concert at the Opera House in Kyiv. He then conducted a concert of the Imperial Court Orchestra in Odessa from memory. In 1948, he became a British citizen. He conducted opera and concert schedules especially with either the London Philharmonic or
London Symphony Orchestras. He conducted operas in New York and was a guest conductor in many countries. In 1956, he toured France and the
USSR with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Operatic work in Britain began with a
The Fair at Sorochyntsi production that toured the country, In 1956 he toured Russia as conductor with the London Philharmonic with stops in Leningrad and Moscow. Fistoulari made a number of studio recordings from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s, most of them dance or ballet music, overtures and concertos. Fistoulari specialised in the interpretation of
ballet music. He was also a noted conductor of Tchaikovsky and the
Russian School, as well as romantic and impressionistic French music. In the 1950s his recordings were mostly for
MGM,
Decca,
EMI,
RCA and
Mercury. Of special note are the Mercury performances of
Sylvia by
Léo Delibes and
Giselle by
Adolphe Adam. He recorded all three Tchaikovsky ballets, recording
Swan Lake for Decca three times—once, in 1952, (slightly abridged) with the London Symphony—a second performance (of highlights), in
stereo with the
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in February 1961; and (uncut) in 1973, a
Decca Phase 4 three disc set, featuring
Ruggiero Ricci as violin soloist. Fistoulari made his last recordings with Decca Phase 4 in the early 1970s, including Tchaikovsky's
4th Symphony. His last recording was in June 1978 with Takayoshi Wanami and the
Philharmonia Orchestra in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64. Besides his ballet recordings, Fistoulari conducted many well-known singers on record including
Jan Peerce,
Inge Borkh,
Victoria de los Ángeles, and
Boris Christoff, pianists like
Edwin Fischer,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Clifford Curzon,
Wilhelm Kempff,
Earl Wild and
Shura Cherkassky, as well as violinists such as
Yehudi Menuhin and
Nathan Milstein. ==Family life==