“A key element to the success of this programme was the contribution of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra under Gergely Vajda. From the Mandarin’s spiky modernism, to the more lush harmonies of The Wooden Prince to the joyous folk-inspired sounds in Dance Suite, the musicians contributed a wealth of experience in this repertoire that would be hard to be matched anywhere else.”

“The Strauss Symphony of America, conducted by genial and whimsical maestro, Gregory Vajda, presented “Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert” at the Music Center at Strathmore on December 30. /…/ The performance also made use of playful humor in jokes by the charismatic maestro, who acted out the role as master of ceremonies.”

“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.”

“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.”

“…[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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“This recording with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the excellent Gregory Vajda is committed and precise.”

“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.”

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.”

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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

“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 

“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.”

Oregon Symphony conductor Vajda soars; A Bartok score and inspiring Chopin help the orchestra shine

“This is a very complex, but never eclectic work, and it has a grand arc, some kind of sublime quality /…/ I really liked it. It is a very beautiful, yet forward thinking composition.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”