Vásáry was born in
Debrecen on 11 August 1933. Vásáry was principal conductor of the
Bournemouth Sinfonietta from 1989 to 1997. They played music from the 20th century, including
Stravinsky and
James MacMillan. He conducted several Mozart operas,
Il Re Pastore at the Aldeburgh Festival,
Le nozze di Figaro at both the
Sadler's Wells Theatre in London and in Cambridge, and
Don Giovanni in Seville. Vásáry was chief conductor of the
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2004, becoming then honorary chief musical director for life. He conducted in Budapest operas including Mozart's
Die Zauberflöte, Verdi's
Rigoletto and Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice. He founded in his hometown the Zoltán Kodály World Youth Orchestra in 2006, a summer meeting of gifted young musicians. He conducted many leading British and international orchestras and appeared regularly as pianist and conductor in Europe and the United States.
Style Harold C. Schonberg wrote "The pleasing thing about his performance, aside from his well-groomed pianism — we all expect complete technicians these days, and generally get them — was its sensitivity. Mr. Vasary gave a big performance without banging or indulging in empty rhetoric."
Tim Page called Vásáry's recording of Schumann's
Scenes From Childhood "marvelously variegated".
Personal life In 1967, Vásáry married Ildikó Kutasi-Kovács, the widow of his best friend. She had grown up in Brazil and been a child actress. She worked at the
University College London as a
cultural anthropologist. The couple had no children. They regularly attended opera at the
Royal Opera House and the
Glyndebourne Festival. She died from cancer in 1994 at the age of 47. Vásáry died in Budapest on 5 February 2026, at the age of 92. He told
The Baltimore Sun: "Everyone is a creator and has wonderful dreams and fantasies. If you can resonate to any great work of art, then you have it in you. But we strive too much for material goods, and we are atrophying our imaginations. I see children who are like dry, old people. If you cannot have emotions, then everything is useless.” == Recordings ==