Conductor György Vashegyi founded the Purcell Choir in 1990, followed by the Orfeo Orchestra in 1991, which performs on authentic period instruments. Since the beginning of his career, he has conducted several thousand concerts in the most important concert halls across Hungary. He also played a key role in the foundation of the Haydneum – Hungarian Centre for Early Music in July 2021, which has been operating under his artistic direction since 2023. In 2022, he was appointed Chief Music Director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation of the ensemble.

One of the focal points of his career is the rediscovery of French opera. Since 2012, he has developed a strong partnership with the Baroque Music Center of Versailles and the Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice. He has conducted more than twenty concert performances and CD recordings of rarely heard French operas — many of which had not been performed for centuries — including works by Boismortier, Cardonne, Cherubini, David, Gervais, Lalo, Leclair, Lemoyne, Massenet, Méhul, Mondonville, Montéclair, Rameau, Silver, Stuck, and Thomas. These recordings have received prestigious awards for recorded music, such as the Diapason d’Or and the Diamant de l’Opéra, among others.

György Vashegyi’s oeuvre has been recognised with numerous honours and awards. In 2021, he was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French state. In 2024, he received one of Hungary’s highest state honours, the Kossuth Prize. He served as President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts for six years, from 2017 to 2023.