Hoffmann, who originally studied law, previously also worked as the Managing Director of SAT1 television channel. Martin Hoffmann very much feels at home both in the world of art and business. His extensive international network and considerable professional experience in brand building and marketing will greatly assist the realisation of the orchestra’s mission.

Orsolya Erdődy will continue as Deputy Managing Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The BFO’s former Executive Director Stefan Englert left the orchestra in June 2018.

"There is great chemistry between Martin and me. We will work together in complete harmony” – says Iván Fischer, the Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

"Working together with such a great orchestra and its inspiring conductor Iván Fischer will be a new and wonderful challenge that I look forward to very much” – says Martin Hoffmann.
 
"I am convinced that with the arrival of Martin a world-renowned orchestra will enjoy the support of a world-class management” – said Andras Simor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Budapest Festival Orchestra Foundation.
 
The BFO, widely considered as one of the most successful and most innovative symphony orchestras of the world is in the midst of a far reaching, ambitious strategic programme. The orchestra has introduced new concert forms for the young generation and has developed an extensive community and outreach programme in Hungary and internationally. Regular visits to schools, retirement homes, churches and abandoned synagogues have attracted a large new audience to classical music. Planned projects include a multi-year cycle with the Iván Fischer Opera Company, yearly residency at the Vicenza Opera Festival, tours in major international music centres including concerts in the London Proms, in New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and participation in the prestigious Mahler Festival 2020 in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Managing the continuation of the BFO's success story and ensuring the orchestra's long-term financial sustainability will be among the major tasks of the new Managing Director.