Lisinski was born Ignatius Fuchs to a German Jewish family.

Lisinski composed the first Croatian opera, Love and Malice (1846), which he wrote at the urging of Alberto Ognjen Štriga,[4] and Porin (1851) as well as numerous works for orchestra, choir and soloists.

He composed music for Hey, Slavs, which was national anthem of Slovak State, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

He was also one of the founders of Illyrism, a movement that advocated the importance of Croatian and more generally South Slavic cultural heritage,[5] as a reaction to Magyarisation during the Austro-Hungarian rule.

[6] The international train EN 498/499 connecting Zagreb and Munich is named Lisinski.