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The Hungarian conductor, János Kovács, graduated with conducting diploma from Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as a student of András Kórodi and Albert Simon in 1973. He later graduated from the piano faculty. In 1984 he was awarded the Franz Liszt Prize.
Immediately after his graduation János Kovács joined the Hungarian State Opera House as a répétiteur, and became a conductor there in 1976. He was Principal Conductor of the Hungarian State Opera House from 1987 to 1990.During the summers of 1979, 1980 and 1981, he was musical assistant to Pierre Boulez in Bayreuth for performances of Der Ring des Nibelungen and also for productions of The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser and Parsifal. He has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Society since 2001, and was an acting Director of Music at the Hungarian State Opera House in 2003 and again in 2006 and 2007. He has been Principal Conductor of the Hungarian State Opera House since the autumn of 2007. In the 2014-/2015 season he was the principal conductor or the MR Symphonic.
In addition to his constant work in the Opera House, János Kovács is regularly invited to conduct the leading Hungarian symphony orchestras with a demanding repertoire that ranges from classical and romantic operas and symphonic pieces to contemporary music. A regular guest conductor of the three major orchestras of Budapest, and has also worked widely with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
His international career has also taken him to conduct major orchestras throughout Europe and as a guest conductor he appeared on stages in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and appeared on stages in Berlin and London with the company of the Hungarian State Opera House. János Kovács used to be Principal Guest Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and between 1992 and 1998 became permanent- and from 1998 Principal Guest Conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. János Kovács gained much recognition as a concert and opera conductor in Karlsruhe, at the Badisches Staatstheater and in the Bratislava National Theatre. He enjoyed a great success and gained much recognition as a concert and opera conductor at the Baden State Theatre. His debut at the Berlin Komische Oper was also a success in January 2011 and in August 2012 he conducted performances of Puccini’s La Boheme in Mexico. In March 2013 the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra appeared with three Beethoven guest performances under his baton at the Bogota International Music Festival in Colombia. He has toured in Germany and Brazil with the National Philharmonics.
János Kovács has contributed to numerous recordings of Hungaroton, Naxos, RCA Red Seal and Delta. In addition to outstanding Hungarian artists - such as Ildikó Komlósi, Éva Marton, Andrea Rost, László Polgar, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki and János Starker –, he has also worked with international artists including Agnes Baltsa, Thomas Hampson, Leonidas Kavakos and Sergei Nakariakov.
János Kovács has been a principal guest conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra since 2001, and was an acting Director of Music at the Hungarian State Opera House in 2003 and 2006-2007. He has been Principal Conductor with the Opera House since the autumn of 2007. His repertoire ranges from classical and romantic operas to contemporary pieces.
During his career János Kovács has received many awards: Vilmos Komor Memorial Plaquette (1980), Liszt Prize (1985), Gusztáv Oláh Memorial Plaquette (1991), Merited Artist award (1996), Kossuth Prize (2001), Inter Lyra Award (2003), Gundel Artistic Award (2004) and Bartók-Pásztory Prize (2007). In 2015 he was given with the Prima Primissima award. |
