Tribute to János Vajda

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

 Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

In the framework of GNO’s co-operation with the

Under the auspices of the

The Athens Conservatoire, in line with its commitment to incorporating contemporary musical creation in its artistic and academic programme, will celebrate the distinguished Hungarian composer Janos Vajda, who holds a significant and impactful position in the Central European music scene, with a concert scheduled for 7 June. His presence in Athens enhances the event’s prestige and gives us the opportunity to engage with such a prominent figure in an immediate manner.

János Vajda: Biographical note

Sándor Kovács

János Vajda (b. 1949, Miskolc, Hungary) studied composition with Emil Petrovics at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (1970-75), where he has taught since 1981.

He achieved his first great success with the TV opera Barabbás, first performed in 1977. The piece showed the composer’s remarkable sense of drama and the stage; in its musical idiom, however, it did not leave behind the modernistic-expressive style prevalent in Hungary during those days.

A short visit to Holland to study with Ton de Leeuw (1979-80) widened the composer’s horizon in many respects. Finally, Vajda’s second opera Mario és a varázsló (Mario and the Magician, 1988) brought radical changes to his compositional style. The work was soon performed in several European cities and has remained in the repertoire of the Budapest Opera. Mario was followed by Leonce és Léna (Leonce and Lena), written to Büchner’s libretto in 1999 and later, in 2007, by Karnyóné (Mrs Karnyó) composed after Csokonai, Don Perlimplín and Don Cristóbal, after Lorca (2013), A képzelt beteg, avagy őfelsége komédiása (The Imaginary Invalid or The Cabal of Hypocrites), after Molière and Bulgakov (2020).

In addition to his operas, the composer has written a lot of oratoric pieces, chamber music and vocal compositions. For his achievements, the composer was awarded the Kossuth Prize, the highest decoration of the Hungarian Republic, in 2003.