György Vashegyi graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1993 with a degree in conducting. He participated several times in the masterclasses of Helmuth Rilling and John Eliot Gardiner, whose influence awakened his interest in historically informed performance. Between 1994 and 1997 he pursued postgraduate studies at the Dresden Early Music Academy under John Toll; the artistry of fortepiano player Malcolm Bilson and violinist Simon Standage also proved highly influential for him.

He conducted his first public concert at the age of sixteen, and his diploma concert featured Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. His operatic debut took place at the Budapest Chamber Opera with Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. He has since appeared regularly as guest conductor with most Hungarian symphony orchestras. In August 2000 he made his Hungarian State Opera debut with Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa, and has since led several hundred performances there, predominantly works by Mozart and Verdi. In the field of contemporary music he conducted the world premiere of Levente Gyöngyösi’s A gólyakalifa in 2005, and in 2013 presented Rameau’s Hyppolite et Aricie—performed on period instruments with the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra—at the Hungarian State Opera.

Vashegyi founded the Purcell Choir in 1990 and the Orfeo Orchestra in 1991. Over the past three decades, under his direction these ensembles have realised numerous major opera and oratorio productions, as well as cantata and orchestral programmes. Their repertoire spans roughly 250 years, from Gesualdo to Mendelssohn, with Bach’s Passions, oratorios, cantatas and motets at its core, alongside works by Monteverdi, Purcell, Rameau, Händel, Mozart, Haydn and Mendelssohn. Between 1998 and 2009 he led a landmark Haydn cycle at Fertőd–Eszterháza, performing all of Joseph Haydn’s pre-London symphonies, all his masses and his German oratorios.

Thanks to his scholarly activity, numerous modern world premieres and Hungarian premieres are associated with his name. With his ensembles he has recorded nearly forty albums for labels such as Hungaroton, Carus, Ediciones Singulares, Accent, Aparté and Glossa (featuring works by Tunder, Charpentier, Purcell, Geist, Bach, Tartini, Manna, Rameau, Mondonville, Istvánffy, Michael Haydn, Joseph Haydn, Mozart, Kraus, Lickl, Méhul, Conti, Stölzel and Gyöngyösi). He maintains a close artistic partnership with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles and its artistic director, musicologist Benoît Dratwicki.
Released in chronological order on the Glossa label are the following French Baroque recordings: Rameau Les Fêtes de Polymnie; Mondonville Grands Motets; Mondonville Isbé; Un opéra pour trois rois (an opéra-pastiche assembled by Benoît Dratwicki); Rameau Naïs; Rameau Les Indes galantes; Gervais Hypermnestre; Montéclair Jephte; Boismortier Les voyages de l’Amour; Rameau Dardanus; and Rameau Les Fêtes d’Hébé. Also with Glossa appeared Graun–Bach–Telemann’s pasticcio Passion Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt.

For Accent he launched a new series dedicated to forgotten treasures of the Hungarian musical heritage; releases to date include Haydn’s Morning–Noon–Evening Symphonies, Werner’s Der Gute Hirt, and Haydn’s Symphonies Nos. 24, 30, 42 and 43. At the same time Lemoyne’s opera Phédre was issued by Bru Zane, and Glossa released the world-premiere recording of Stölzel’s nearly forgotten Passion Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld.

Several of these recordings have received prestigious distinctions: Les Fêtes de Polymnie, Un opéra pour trois rois, Naïs and Hypermnestre were awarded the “Diamant de l’Opéra” by Opéra Magazine; Les Fêtes de Polymnie and Naïs earned the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; while Les Fêtes de Polymnie, Jephte and Les Fêtes d’Hébé received the Diapason d’Or, and Phédre was honoured with the Diapason d’or découverte.

Vashegyi has taught at the Liszt Academy since 1992 and currently serves as Associate Professor and head of the Early Music Department, established under his leadership in 2010. His work has been recognised with the Liszt Prize (2008) and the Hungarian Order of Merit – Knight’s Cross (Civil Division) (2015). In 2021 the French State bestowed upon him the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

A member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA) since 2013, he was elected its president in October 2017 and re-elected for another three-year term in 2020. Since spring 2020 he has also served as President of the National Cultural Council. On 1 October 2022 he assumed the post of Chief Music Director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic.