Fischer was born on 25 April 1913 in Bern as the son of the mycologist
Eduard Fischer. Fischer studied piano at the
University of the Arts Bern, which he completed in 1935 with a diploma under
Franz Josef Hirt. Later he was trained by
Czesław Marek. In addition, he studied
musicology at the
University of Bern and received his
doctorate in 1938. From 1939 to 1957 he worked as a teacher at the Bern Conservatory. From 1948 to 1957 he was appointed
Privatdozent at the University of Bern. From 1957 to 1979 he taught musicology as
Ordinarius at the
University of Zurich, from 1974 to 1976 as
Dean. He has also held visiting professorships in Europe, the US and Australia. In addition, he was an honorary member of numerous scientific societies and president of the
International Musicological Society from 1967 to 1972. In 1974 he was awarded the Music Prize of the Canton of Berne. In 1980 he was awarded the
Hans Georg Nägeli Medal of the City of Zurich. He has corresponded with many famous personalities of the 20th century, including
Inge Borkh,
Alfred Cortot,
György Ligeti,
Arvo Pärt,
Sándor Veress,
Wladimir Vogel and
Jean Ziegler. Fischer, who married the pianist Esther Aerni in 1940, died on 27 November 2003 at the age of 90 in Bern. Fischer's main areas of research were the
Ars nova of the 14th century, the history of the
Passions composition as well as variation and the work of
Ludwig van Beethoven. The internationally renowned teacher and researcher Fischer was named
Honorary Citizen of
Certaldo for his services to
trecento research. == Publications ==