About us
Over the 75 years since the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded, with countless concerts in Hungary and abroad, and its radio, TV and CD recordings of almost the entire symphony and oratorio repertoire, it has won its place in the vanguard of symphony orchestras. The world’s leading critics are unanimous in praising its evenness of sound, its flexibility, and its patronage in promoting and recording contemporary Hungarian music. The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has since the beginning been the central figure in the annual Budapest Wagner Days.
The Hungarian Radio Choir was formed in 1950. Its repertoire encompasses all fields of classical choral music, including a cappella works, masterpieces from the opera and oratorio repertoires, from the Renaissance to the present day. Its concerts include works by both classical and contemporary composers, including compositions by the most famous Hungarian composers, Franz Liszt, Béla Bartók, Ernő Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály, György Ligeti, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös, János Vajda, and György Orbán.
The Hungarian Radio Children’s Choir was founded by Valéria Botka and László Csányi, who both directed it between 1955 and 1985. In 1985 the work was taken over by a trio of conductors: János Reményi became the artistic director of the choir, while Lenke Igó and Gabriella Thész were the conductors. From 1995 Gabriella Thész acted as principal conductor and artistic director, in cooperation with László Norbert Nemes between 1997 and 2009. After Gabriella Thész retired, from 2012 the principal conductor and artistic director of the Hungarian Radio Children’s Choir was dr. László Matos. Sándor Kabdebó was assistant conductor until 2015. Currently Soma Dinyés is the chorus master, and he is assisted by Judit Walter and Katalin Körber Vargáné.
Since 2000 the Hungarian Radio Children’s Choir has drawn on children from the Kodály Zoltán Primary, Secondary and Music School, where children who get into the choir can start and continue their studies in the “radio” classes.