“The composition is a sort of recitar-cantando (spoken-singing) that draws all of its inspirations from the text. Sometimes it clearly illustrates it, like at the very beginning, with the galopp-like music representing the arrival of the transporters. However this exciting musical material can also be “transporting” us from one scene to the next. Vajda handles the text of Esterházy with great respect (Monteverdi or Schütz in the 17th Century could believe in the power of words this much). /…/ If we want to talk about autonomous musical moments, we must mention an instrumental intermezzo introduced by the trio of a bassoon, a bass and a friction drum (!). We have not heard a more witty 2 minutes in a Hungarian contemporary composition for a long time. The UMZE chamber ensemble, under the baton of the composer himself, performed with great perfection, paralleling that of the vocal soloist.”
November 3, 2021, Zoltán Farkas, ‘Operatherapy’, review about “The Transporters” mono-opera production at Magyar Narancs magazine
“It is enjoyable and beautiful in every moment, — contemporary music or not, just listen to it, this is what beautiful contemporary music sounds like — there is an overall unity to it.”
October 21, 2021, János Mácsai, New Music Journal at Hungarian Radio, about “The Transporters” mono-opera production
“The lush orchestral textures, overflowing with arpeggios and pumped up with percussion, go with the over-the-top costumes. There are ironically overly graphic moments, such as the tolling bells and descending chromatic scales sending Seneca to his death. Conductor Gergely Vajda and the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra brought out the psychedelic colours beautifully, while Kornél Fekete-Kovács’s Modern Art Orchestra had me looking forward to the next leisurely jazz interlude.”
March 14, 2021, Jenny Camilleri, bachtrack.com ‘Hungarian State Opera delightfully revamps L’incoronazione di Poppea’
“The performance of the canonized Pierrot was a huge experience. What guaranteed this was the outstanding quality of Gregory Vajda as a ‘new’ music performer based on his experience as composer and conductor. He has the rare ability to get to the deepest core of a musical work by using the most simple tools, and to show us the inner richness of said work. He is able to make a piece of music completely transparent to the listener in a way, that the inherent order of it becomes self evident.”
January 23, 2021, Janos Malina, Revizoronline.com about UMZE Ensemble live broadcast from the Budapest Music Center Budapest
“The opening number [Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites, selection] provided the most perfect experience: here the quality of the performance and the acoustics of the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy blended in total harmony. /…/ Under Gregory Vajda’s direction the orchestra became a real partner to him in performing with clarity and inspiration.”
December 12, 2020, Janos Malina at ‘ZeneKar’ (Orchestra) magazine about the Oct. 19 concert with the Hungarian Radio Symphony at the Liszt Academy, Budapest
“…[Vajda] gave very attractive performances in both worlds [that of Grieg and Franck], he could free up the energies of the orchestra, and he was able to get beautiful sounds out of the Hungarian Radio Symphony. /…/ This was a very successful concert and at the end of the César Franck Symphony the audience was truly celebrating the conductor and his orchestra.”
October 25, 2020, Kristof Csengery at New Music Journal program of the Hungarian Radio on the Oct. 19 concert of the Hungarian Radio Symphony at the Liszt Academy, Budapest
“Peter Eötvös is a crucial player on the international new music scene, having written a large body of well-crafted and underrated work. Only a few of his twelve operas have been staged in the U.S.; in June, the newly revived New York City Opera will give the long-overdue New York premiere of his 2004 Angels in America. Angels also feature in his 2013 German-language opera Paradise Reloaded (Lilith). But unlike the time-halting winged messengers of Tony Kushner’s play, the fallen angels in this opera—Lucifer and his horde—are bent on changing the course of history.”
October 2020, Joe Cadagin on the ‘Paradise Reloaded’ World Premiere recording at Critic’s Choice of Opera News
“For sure we have three orchestras -including the Budapest Festival Orchestra- who are proven to be able to produce high quality Mahler performances. This can be considered outstanding in the case of one city. /…/ This time it was the musical ensembles of the Hungarian Radio who demonstrated their abilities with Gregory Vajda at the helm. /…/ The Hungarian Radio Symphony and Gregory Vajda has done everything to make all the details of this work [Mahler Symphony No.3] to come to life. [Vajda] managed to keep up the tension, and to show all the riches of the piece during an hour and a half. This textural and musical richness could be hard to follow, but it was all worth it this time under his all-revealing leadership.”
March, 2019, nepszava.hu, ‘An Hour and a Half Without a Minute of Boredom’
“We can call the music, without any reservations, simply beautiful. It was clear however, that the outstanding performance has played an important role in making the work accessible. For this we have to thank first and foremost Zsofia Kalnay in the title role, who has managed to show the many hidden faces of the female character. Robert Rezsnyak delivered the role of Bernard with temperance and prudence. The orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera played in an engaging way under the baton of the composer.”
June 14, 2018, Kata Kondor at operavilag.net about ‘Barbie Blue’
“To invite Gregory Vajda to conduct this program was the perfect choice. As he was bringing out the rich colors of the orchestration, he managed to inspire the musicians to play with precision, and he did it with great vigor.”
March 6, 2018, Katalin Fittler in ZeneKar Magazine about the “Machines” program with Danubia Orchestra at the Liszt Academy
“This recording with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the excellent Gregory Vajda is committed and precise.”
March 2017, BBC Music Magazine about ‘Paradise Reloaded (Lilith)’
“The outstanding conductor is not only able to thoroughly interpret compositions, and by doing that shed light on the complex layers of meaning, but he can also implement his vision in the performance practice. It is worth it sometimes to look at his conducting. Some of his complex movements make complicated musical characters come to life. It is a great experience to realize how things we can see become sounds real time.”
March 17, 2017, Kata Kondor at operavilag.net on the “Hungarian Late Night” production
The Magic Flute at Hackney Empire
“The production effortlessly combines the traditional and contemporary, comedy and poignancy, and behind the slapstick of the movements, the quality of the delivery of the orchestral and choral scores, conducted by Gergely Vajda, bring to life the emotion of the characters and a depth of meaning.”
October 23, 2016 Sarah Bradbury The Upcoming
Impassioned Paremski delivers a fierce Prokofiev performance at Symphony Silicon Valley
“Vajda’s performance of Janacek’s resplendent ‘Sinfonietta’ left little doubt of his ability to move an audience. His execution of the ‘Andante con moto’ through fanfares and brilliant textural passages rendered heartfelt expressivity and a ripened, sustained sweetness with a touch of elegance.”
May 2016 Elijah Ho San Jose Mercury News
Sparkling Mitteleuropa fare with Enescu, Vajda and Dvořák in Budapest
“Vajda’s language was a unique modern tongue, not triadic or modal, but definitely his own, and characterized by skillful use of winds and percussion to cook up little sonic worlds that burbled and bubbled like extraterrestrial bodies.
The movements were framed by a Praeludium and an extended Postludium that featured some of the best timpani writing I have heard. Three timpanists, trading overlapping phrases with each other like ping-pong players, spooled the rhythmic tattoos from one side of the stage to the other, rolling through thrilling waves of crescendos and diminuendos. This created a palpable tension that supported the extensive amount of crisp and concise wind writing above it, sometimes sectional and other times soloists from within the orchestra – together with the solo clarinetists, who each played two instruments. /…/
While certainly not a traditional concerto for clarinets (as those instruments were used as part of the larger wind team as much as they were featured soloists), the piece’s overall effect was a scintillating, almost irradiated texture, especially when the entire percussion section was in full swing.”
February 6, 2016 Alexandra Ivanoff on the World Premiere of ‘Clarinet Symphony’ / bachtrack.com
“Leading a huge work like “Carmina Burana” must be like steering an 18-wheeler. This isn’t really a work that needs much “interpreting,” but a performance does need to be tight and exciting, and the chorus, soloists, and orchestra certainly delivered on Thursday night under the direction of guest conductor Gregory Vajda. /…/
Gregory Vajda and the RPO gave Ginastera’s piece an aerobic workout of a performance that would make Copland’s cowboys, and even Orff’s lusty students, look downright prim.”
June 5, 2015 David Raymond / rochestercitynewspaper.com
“Charismatic guest conductor Gregory Vajda didn’t just subtly coax an imaginative performance out of the orchestra; he commanded a highly fluid one, one filled with heady imagination, subtle touches and substantial energy. /…/
Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 1,” /…/, brought the night to a satisfying close. The composer wrote it as a graduation piece for the Petrograd Conservatory when he was only 19, and it’s remained a favorite with audiences since it debuted in 1926. It’s a work that begins as chamber music and ends with orchestral flourish, and its four movements, though related in theme, vary from whimsy and humor to Wagnerian volatility. It is a symphony that is in constant flux, an elephant that makes its weight fully felt, and Vajda conducted it with comfortable assurance, leading the orchestra from the beginning march-like melody through to the crashing conclusion with expressive gusto.”
April 25, 2015 Kim Carpenter / Omaha World-Herald
“Luckily there are qualities of this production that cannot be questioned, and they come from the conductor and the orchestra. [T]he orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera was in a great shape. We sure would like to have both the quality of sound and the high level ensemble playing for future premieres this season. This quality, no doubt is mostly coming from the preparatory work of Gregory Vajda. We must emphasize that Vajda has been showing the virtues of a born opera conductor. His connection with the singers and stage action is exemplary. Under his baton the orchestra not only plays beautifully but it provides dramatic musical action in every moment. Gregory Vajda drew attention with his great conducting of three different opera productions at other venues last season. It has been a pleasure to see him getting his own production at the Hungarian State Opera. Based on the end result we can only hope that this won’t be the last time.”
– Sept 29, 2014 by Gabor Boka, operavilag.net
No Tickets for Bayreuth? Budapest Has a Wagner Festival, Too
“This year Mr. Fischer shares responsibilities with Gergely Vajda, who presides over a smoothly running performance. One will not soon forget the stunning close of Act 2, as Lohengrin and Elsa enter the minster for their wedding and the sound of the full orchestra, bolstered by the Palace of Arts pipe organ, reverberated through the hall.”
– June 11, 2013 by George Loomis, New York Times
“Young, dynamic Gregory Vajda (b. 1973 in Budapest) was guest conductor. He directed with a steady baton, deploying graceful hand motions to elicit needed tempo and volume variation.
“Maestro Vajda contributed deep interpretive insight with Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta. Under his baton the five sections, played without break, glowed with fresh intensity and beauty. Cellos excelled, as did oboe and clarinet. Various harmonies echoed those of the Mideast and Eastern Europe, making for engaging tonalities. Vajda and the orchestra made us want to hear more — much more — Kodaly.”
– Nov 18, 2012 by C.J. Gianakaris, Kalamazoo Gazette
Guest conductor lends expert touch to SSO Mozart program
“Under him, the small orchestra (most of the musicians are playing for Seattle Opera’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ this week and next), performed Mozart’s Divertimento in F major and the Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major with a light touch that arrested attention from the first notes. The string players used slight and only occasional vibrato, creating a true harmonic sound, and often less bow, allowing notes to sound as though released by the bow rather than pushed. Using less bow also made fast runs cleaner and lighter, flickering off the string, and Vajda took fast movements truly fast at a good Baroque tempo.”
— 2011 Philippa Kiraly, Seattle Times
“In his Cleveland debut, Gregory Vajda, resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, leads an engrossing performance rich in character and feeling. Where Sibelius asks for lyricism, he spins long, yearning lines, and in the sprightly “Path” music, he explores a range of soft dynamics. … No less vivid is the group’s rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. There isn’t a literal narrative at play here, but Vajda still conveys the experience of covering real ground. … the performance under Vajda is robust, fueled by senses of restlessness and purpose. Developments are sweeping, contrasts of rhythm and dynamics are abundant, and the Allegretto is a thing of lissome beauty. It’s Beethoven at his most dashing.”
City Music Cleveland ends season with vivid Sibelius, Beethoven and Mozart – April 15, 2010 cleveland.com by Zachary Lewis
“Vajda — resident conductor of Oregon Symphony — led the orchestra through engaging and frequently moving performances of Christmas standards and a few exotic surprises … [Vajda] didn’t need Cirque (de la Symphonie) to put on a compelling performance. Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s Pops program spins a fantastic holiday show – Dec 11, 2009, Tom Keogh in Seattle Times
“The Atlanta Opera orchestra, under the direction of Conductor Gregory Vajda, was particularly crisp and distinguished: Vajda motivated the players to give their finest performance in recent memory.”
February 2009, Opera News
Oregon Symphony conductor Vajda soars; A Bartok score and inspiring Chopin help the orchestra shine JAMES McQUILLEN The Oregonian – Monday, January 14, 2008
If Gregory Vajda weren’t already the Oregon Symphony’s resident conductor, after Saturday night’s concert with the orchestra at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, I’d suspect he was auditioning for something. The program was just the sort of thing aspiring conductors bring to a tryout: a couple of big-orchestra blockbusters; a display of clarity with a slightly smaller ensemble; and a concerto, for “plays well with others” points. On all counts, the dynamic young Hungarian scored high.
The evening began with a rarity, Bela Bartok’s full-length score for the pantomime “The Miraculous Mandarin.” Written in the early 1920s, it accompanied a sordid tale of thievery, violence, murder and love (or something vaguely related, but which is in any case strangely undying until the merciless ending). There’s not space enough here to go into the dramatis personae, but just imagine if Gershwin’s “American in Paris” had ended up in the wrong part of town and had a really, really bad time.
Bartok called for a huge orchestra, which in this concert meant augmented winds, brass and percussion. The palette of tone color was correspondingly rich and, with the piece’s insistent rhythms and harsh harmonies, it contributed to an expressionistic picture of nastiness on both an urban and an intimate scale. By contrast, Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” — which “The Miraculous Mandarin” resembles in general ways — seems refreshing; at least it takes place outside.
The performance was commanding, with clear direction from Vajda and incisive playing throughout the orchestra. It could perhaps have been grittier and gutsier in places, pushing beyond fine details and controlled tempos, but it was still impressive. Perhaps the only real drawback was its place at the top of the program. When it was done, I didn’t much feel like listening to Debussy or Chopin or Paul Dukas; I felt like taking a shower or petting a kitten.
But after intermission, I did listen to Debussy (“Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”) and Chopin (Piano Concerto No. 2) and Dukas (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”), and it was all impressive. Particularly good was the Chopin; it featured soloist Ingrid Fliter, who is still fairly obscure even though she’s one of only five winners of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award. Her technical command was fantastic, her touch pristine: In Chopin’s avalanches of notes, each one was distinct, and her phrasing was elegant and natural.
Chopin didn’t give the orchestra much to do in this youthful concerto, but the symphony did very little very well, achieving nearly perfect balance with Fliter throughout. Vajda, Fliter: Expect to hear these names more often.
©2008 The Oregonian
PIERRE RUHE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – February 9, 2007
“Like most of the cast, Hungarian conductor Gregory Vajda was making his Atlanta Opera debut — as well as his U.S. professional opera debut. (Credit general director Dennis Hanthorn and artistic administrator Eric Mitchko for these discoveries.)
Born in 1973, Vajda’s the real thing. Rhythmically alert, he found his own pace for the opera — a bit on the slow and careful side, perhaps, but always taut and flowing.”
Pierre Ruhe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – February 9, 2007
Conductor Vajda ‘a titan’! ARTHUR KAPTAINIS, The Montreal Gazette – April 30, 2004
Conducting in the opera pit is a hard way to build a reputation. Who in Place des Arts saw Gregory Vajda lead the Montreal Symphony Orchestra through a challenging Opéra de Montréal double bill of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung? How many cared about what he did?
Even the reviewers were preoccupied by Robert Lepage’s experimental staging. “Young Hungarian newcomer Gregory Vajda brought great clarity to Schoenberg’s atonal textures,” was about all your correspondent had to say.
MSO musicians, shielded from the stage, have a different perspective.
“Vajda is a titan!” asserts violinist and veteran curmudgeon Pierre Jean, reflecting closely the view of his colleagues. “His talent kept the performances intact. … Rehearsals for Schoenberg were not enough. As well, performances were spaced so far apart. … The last performance was rife with missing solos (our cues) and yet the boy was on top of it! Musicianship galore, self- deprecating humor, this boy has it all!”
Mostly Mozart Review by Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times – August 28, 2004
With Gregory Vajda conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in the pit at La Guardia Concert Hall, Ms. De Keersmaeker’s dancers from Rosas, her company at La Monnaie (the Brussels opera house), were perfectly integrated into the remarkably fluid performance of the three sopranos onstage on.
Gergely (Gregory) Vajda (*1973), is one of the most talented members of Hungary ’s young generation of composers. Clarinetist, conductor, artistic consultant to a brass ensemble and music director of a Budapest theatre, Vajda is an exceptionally versatile musician who mastered the art of composition not at school but through practice. He has participated in the preparation and rehearsal of numerous contemporary pieces, including those of Péter Eötvös. His own works bear the imprint of the beneficial influence of his complex performer ’s experience. Instead of a theoretical approach to composition, it is the creation of the sensual beauty of music that fascinates him; this is why he makes liberal use of variegated colours and unusual effects. Although he was only twenty at the time of its composition, his solo piece, Lightshadow-trembling (1993), bears witness to his superior knowledge of his instrument ’s “soul” and innermost secrets. The motifs surfacing, then fade back into the range of the “inaudible” exploit the dynamic possibiliti es of the clarinet to its maximum. The counterpoints to these ethereal motifs are the sections labelled “wild” in the score, where the clarinet squeals stridently like a folk music instrument, the pipe or the reed-pipe. The fast-as-lightning figures often create the illusion of polyphony, and the playful gestures of recurrent passages evoke Till Eulenspiegel, the great jester. (Gergely Vajda dedicated this work to the poet András Petőcz, whose poems he used five years later in [his 25 minutes long “piece for speaking percussion-quartet”] Non-figurative.”)
Zoltan Farkas in the programbook of the CD “Dervishdance”, Budapest Music Center
