He is a big talent

(Leonard Bernstein)

Excellent artistic quality, both technically and in interpretation, sharp sensibility, artistic earnestness.

(Franco Ferrara)

My best pupil, the finest conducting talent of recent years.

(Ervin Lukács)

Excellent young conductor for whom we had to wait long, long years…

(Muzsika, Budapest, Aug. 1986, on Hungarian TV Competition)

The Faust Symphony by Liszt enchanted with its deep beauty and a conducting that touched the soul. There is no questioning his first prize.

(Le monde, 2. September 1986, on the Toscanini Competition)

"Whatever Ráth touches turns into gold"

 (La Stampa, Torino, Liszt: Tasso, Les Preludes)

 

CONCERT REVIEWS

…He is a real musical giant.

(Novosty, Beograd, 9. Oct. 1986, on Liszt’s Faust Symphony)

 „Master among the Masters”
Flawless competence, elegance of expression, total inner transfiguration. These are Ráth’s trump-cards.

(Vecerni List, Zagreb, 28. Febr. 1988, on Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition)

 „Győriványi Ráth makes the music of Hungary shine”
The Milano RAI Orchestra with Győriványi gave one of the best concerts of the season.

(Corriera della Sera, Milano,4.February 1989, on Kodály’s Peacock Variations and Brahms’ Symphony no.4.)

The red-hot sensivity of Gy. Ráth which comes through much more as Mediterranean than „Slavic”, makes him a performer of whom we will undoubtedly hear a lot of in the future.

(La nuova Venezia, 17. October 1989, on Shostakovich’ Symphony No.9.)

„Győriványi Ráth’s outstanding performance.”
Under the exceptionally fine baton of Győriványi Ráth the RAI Orchestra and Choir performed with a rare brightness of tone making the programme one of the most interesting performances of the spring season.

(La Stampa, Torino, 19. April1990, on Liszt’s Dante Symphony)

Győriványi Ráth is on home ground with this work.His Bartók was dark, wild and rhythmic. It is fascinating how the musicians of RTL changed their usual sound to bring life to the world of Bartók.
They paid close attention to, and concentrated on, the temperamental gestures of the conductor, resulting in a unique and nerve-wracking Bartók interpretation.

(Tageblatt Luxenbourg , 5. May 1990, on Bartók’s Sonata…)

„Hot success in La Scala – On Stage: Ráth.”

(Corriera della Sera, Milano, 5.May 1990, on Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra)

Here Győriványi was on congenial ground, exposing technical competence, performing fantasy and an exceptional sympathy with the sharp, barbarian tonality.

(La Stampa, Torino, 9. March 1991, on Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps)

„Győriványi Ráth, We are grateful.” Huge success of Hungarian conductor.

(La Nazione, Firenze, 27. March 1993, on Bartók’s Divertimento)

„Győriványi Ráth: Schubert ’alla Grande’”

(La Stampa, Torino, 22. October 1994, on Schubert’s Symphony No. 9.)

Ráth seems to have an extraordinary talent. Performing Haydn’s 103rd symphony, he gave an evidence of a strainless technique, a sense of natural form and, in particular , a true phrasing, rendering each motive with its most authentic expression.

(Corriera della Sera, Milano, 26. February 1995, on Haydn’s Symphony No. 103.)

At last a conductor, György Győriványi Ráth, who enjoys what he is doing and expresses the true nature of music intelligently with a taste and musical ear and without any technical difficulty.

(La Stampa, Torino, 3.January 1998, on Strauss J.’s Waltzes and Polkas)

Gyõriványi has proved to be, first and foremost, the artist of fine shades and transitions, and showed how tempo can be gradually, and almost trivially,  enlivened or slowed by being alert to the sweeping of music and the interfading of characters. Gyõriványi knows it off-hand how it is possible to express a gesture using deliberate and differentiated dynamics, how a progression to be manifested over a longer term has to be developed economically and forethoughtfully, raising an everlasting expectation in the listener.

 (Hungarian Radio, Budapest, Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.5.)

Gy.R.Gy. conducted Beethoven's Eroica symphony excellently.... The conductor controlled the orchestra with power, full of tension with a good sense for the contrasts.

(La Stampa, April 26. 2003 on Beethoven’s Eroica symphony)

Most probably all this may be the result of  understanding Ráth, the highly talented conductor. He is a Hungarian with the flame of music in his blood.
Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade was controlled by Rath's aesthetic sense, he is excellent in forming phrases.
The success was well deserved. The Hungarian is an experienced opera conductor and it would be nice to hear him at Teatro Regio more frequently, even continously.

(La Stampa, September 12. 2003 on Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade)

For many years Maestro György Győriványi Ráth conducted the RAI Orchestra in Turin and the Piemont Orchestra, and every time he returns here, the audience wishes he would come here more often. The Hungarian Conductor, who is excellent in a huge repertoire but naturally he prefers the music of his native land, is here again.

(La Stampa, April 14th 2006. Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta and Tchaikowsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique".)

He displayed his expertise as a conductor by staging prestigious yet in style very different orchestral material (among them the late romantic Dohnányi, the folk inspired Kodály end the expressionist Bartók).
In the pieces the Arena orchestra in the leading role gave proof of an awesome precision what allowed Győriványi Ráth to line up vibrating suspense, a reading rich in details, flexible phrasing and precisely developed dynamics.
The response was roaring applause.

( L’Arena, Cesare Galla, May 22. 2006, on Dohnányi’s Symphonic Minutes, Op. 36, Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Kodály’s Dances of Galánta)

The Brabants Orchestra let itself guided well under the baton of György Győriványi Ráth. They played with intensity and deep committment to the huge artistic task, warming up in the multifaceted musical opportunities offered by the works of the evening. The (almost) full house audience could nibble on the orchestral delicacies offered plentifully.

(Eindhovens Dagblad, November 13. 2006, on Sibelius’ Finlandia, Dvorak’s Symphony No.8, Prokofjev’s Romeo and Juliette)

Győriványi Ráth conducted Verdi’s Macbeth, Boito’s Mefistofele and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut before in Colón. He always managed to create the own aesthetic universe of the plays. In this sense the challenge was not smaller than performing one of the most difficult pieces of the repertoire, and he succeeded in unfolding the enormous drama of content. The reward for the audience, and also for the conductor and the orchestra, was the explosion of the encore: one of Brahms’ Hungarian dances.

(Pagina 12, Buenos Aires, May 11, 2007, Bartók: Music for strings, percussion and celesta)

György Győriványi Ráth steadily kept under control the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, which is capable of fine shading, being precise and soaring at the same time. Győriványi’s style is characterized by tradition-bound albeit fresh tempos.

(Magyar Hírlap, Budapest, September 7, 2007, Kodály: Háry János suite, Galanta dances)

Great success for the Orchestra Regionale in Bolzano – György Ráth conducts.

(L’Adice, November 8, 2007, Bartók: Divertimento, Haydn: Symphony No. 70, Kodály: Galanta dances)

Kodály’s splendid music sounded with exceptional beauty under the baton of György Győriványi Ráth.

(Képmás, Budapest, December 14, 2007. Kodály CD)

Ráth’s Beethoven is pure power. His rendering is of high-calibre and precise, paying attention to each and every minute elements of the score. The orchestra of the arena was ready to respond, properly highlighting the colours and the frequently soloistic elements of the strings and also the winds, without ever letting us feel a loss in expression.

(L’Arena, Verona, .April 27, 2008. Beethoven: Christ on Olive Mountains)

Musical and emotional clarity. György Győriványi Ráth led the Northern-German Philharmonic Orchestra into a relaxed music playing. Everything was in place: pregnant, transparent and powerful.

(Rostocker Neueste Nachrichten, January 28, 2008., Shostakovich: Symphony No.9)

The fifty year old conductor has the two traits necessary to persuade his orchestra: a clear idea of interpretation translated by always clear and telling gestures, and the charisma that makes a conductor not only a coach but the real leader of the performance. When these traits are complemented by the absolute knowledge of the score and all the other components that manifest themselves thoughout Rath’s conducting.

(Alto Adice, October 27, 2011., Haydn Symphony Nr. 67)

They couldn’t have found a better conductor than Ráth, who has been studying the „Dohnányi renaissance” for years, to introduce this classic to the local audience and let them enjoy the superb orchestration and the quality of melodic and rhythmic fantasy.

(Alto Adice, May 5, 2012. – Dohnányi: Symphony Nr. 1)

Now Győriványi had a chance to get absorbed in studying Shostakovich’s work. He discovered myriads of beauties in it. He worked on the details prodigiously. I know quite a few renderings of the piece and I may say with conviction that this performance may have beaten all of them as far as punctuality, the attention to detail and effect were concerned. Obviously, this required the passion, commitment and discipline of the orchestra. The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra delivered an incredible performance. Practically everything worked out fine, each and every solo sounded inspired. Next time I ask for a complementary ticket, it won’t be for Shostakovich or some other composition that sounds interesting. I will be curious about the orchestra and, in the first place, about the concept of György Győriványi Ráth.

(Új Zenei Újság, April 27, 2013, Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 5)

„All of this was merely a prelude to the astonishing orchestral tour de force of Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin suite, a jagged, vehement, raw, and provocative expressionist manifesto…

Finally, it must be said that this performance cannot be compared to any recording. Surely, there may be technically superior versions, but few could penetrate so deeply, allowing the music to seep into our pores. By the end of the evening, the audience erupted into a frenzy, while the musicians, instead of applauding with their bows, clapped with their hands—an acknowledgment of the tremendous effort, labor, and emotional depth that moved both performers and listeners alike.”

(ABC. es, Carlos Tarín, January 17, 2025)

“With Ligeti’s youthful Romanian Concerto, Ráth began to showcase a third virtue, which he fully confirmed in the Bartók piece: the ability to achieve an appealing variety of tonal colors. In Ligeti’s work, we witnessed a lightness and a perfect understanding of the piece’s folkloric spirit, while in Bartók, the Hungarian maestro transformed the ROSS into a true kaleidoscope of sound. It was not easy to decide what to admire more: the brilliant timbre of the sections, the ensemble’s cohesion, or the energetic, tireless direction.”

(Diario de Sevilla, Pablo J. Vayon, January 16, 2025)

OPERA REVIEWS

The hero of the night was undoubtedly the conductor.
The debut of Gy. Ráth with Magic Flute was an operatic event of great revelation.

(Új Magyarország, Budapest, 6. October 1994, on Mozart’s Magic Flute)

Musically the performance is led the conductor György Győriványi  Ráth with an incredible sense of tempo and an unlimited tension created by the shades of phrases.
He has berthed magnificently at the Opera.

(La Repubblica, Rome, 16. March 1995, on Verdi’s Macbeth)

Győriványi Ráth on stage is a real discovery.

(Il Tempo, Rome, 6. March 1995, on Verdi’s Macbeth)

Although each and every performer contributed to the success of the performance, the work of the conductor, György Győriványi Ráth must be emphasised above all, who really mesmerised us with his intensity, vibrating emotions in the crucial moments of the opera.

(Corriera della Sera, Milano, 4. August 1996, on Giordano’s Andrea Chenier)

The colour of the music and the motional tension, painful even in its anger, came from György Győriványi Ráth, who showed a considerable sensivity for Verdi’s music, just as he had done with the macbeth performance in Rome. Fiery rhythms and board musical lines characterise his conducting.

(Messaggero, Venezia, 14. December 1996, on Verdi’s Rigoletto)

On the stage, György Győriványi Ráth delivered a lively reading, gathering a wealth of musical colours and correctly directing the eroticism of valses with resolved softness.

(L’Arena, Verona, 2. January 1997, on J. Strauss’ Bat)

Hungarian conductor Rath earnedhis ovation for his fluid, secure pacing of a problematic opera.

(Chicago, Tribune, 16. December 1998, on Boito’s Mefistofele)

Gy.R.Gy. can create a homogeneous sound from the orchestra and the choir, he is alert to the slightest movements of the singers and surrounds them with a fluctuating rhythm, never letting the audience's attention a bit loose.

 (Caderno 2, Sao Paulo, Verdi: Il Trovatore)

All this is reflected excellently in Gy.R.Gy.'s vivid, accurate and highly inspired rendering, who could rely on the well-rehearsed orchestra and the really convincing choir of Teatro Regio.

(Mundomusica, Verdi: La forza del destino)

Rich execution that follows tradition, very Italian (even though the Maestro happens to be Hungarian), fiery, expressive.

(Il Gazzettino, Venice, Nabucco)

György Győriványi Ráth rises above the others. Under his conduct, the Orchesta Estable played with an incredible dramatic force. György Győriványi Ráth's baton led with considerable flexibility both the string and the winds section of the orchestra.

(Clarin, 9. December 2004, Puccini: Manon Lescaut, Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires)

The audience of the Budapest Jewish Festival was granted a more than acceptable performance under the grand-seigneur direction of György Győriványi Ráth, accompanied colourfully by the MÁV Orchestra which proved to be indigenous in this lyrical-dramatical style.

(Muzsika, October 2006, Saint-Saens: Samson and Dalila)

The Samson performance was far beyond all expectation, primarily thanks to the conductor, György Győriványi Ráth. Győriványi is an excellent and reliable opera conductor with a sense of drama, well aware of the flow of dramatic effect offered by the given work and, not the least, ..... pays attention to the singers.

(Új Ember, 10. September 2006, Saint-Saens: Sámson és Dalila)

György Győriványi Ráth as a guest on the rostrum of the Nationaltheater Orchestra conducted a Verdi full of dramatic tension, not lacking either fire or colourful lyricism. Warm success.

(Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 9. October 2006, Verdi: Rigoletto)

The production was perfectly set and beautifully elaborated. The whole thing is almost world-class. All this manifests itself best in the music. First the orchestra and choir sound Bellinish, powerful, then reaches a high tonal level over the evening. Ráth organizes and coordinates well.

(Mannheimer Morgen, 9. October 2006, Verdi: Rigoletto)

György Győriványi Ráth, Chief Musical Director of the Hungarian State Opera and a world-renowned Verdi conductor,provided an attentive and elaborate accompaniment from the rostrum of the Nationaltheater Orchestra, built up several orchestral peaks, conducted with a rhythmic intensity but avoiding dynamic excesses. Bright performance.

(Mannheimer Morgen, 12. October 2006, Verdi: Rigoletto)

György Győriványi Ráth, the conductor and former chief musical director of the Opera served as a real catalyst in driving the tempos of the overture and the arias and helped entries with extremely rhythmic and precise auftacts.

(Fidelio, 15.December 2006, Mozart: Don Giovanni)

Excellent orchestral play, tight tempo, coherent production, authentic Mozart sound, thanks to the conductor, György Győriványi Ráth in particular, but also to the Angelica Girls’ Choir, the Honvéd Male Choir and the orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera.

(Képmás, Budapest, December 14, 2007, Mozart: Don Giovanni CD)

The orchestra offered a surprisingly rich sound at the beginning of the overture, kicking off the opera with a solemn and opulent flow, ........the standard was maintained up to the end, from time to time it was as if Győriványi manually pulled the beautiful sounds out of the violins, what's important, he did it, pulled it out, so we heard not only a disciplined but also an expressive orchestral play all along the three acts.

(18, January 2008, Élet és Irodalom, Budapest, Wagner: Tannhauser)

Since I was struggling with my tears all along the last two acts, I must admit that Manon had an effect on me. However, if I want to be objective, one must accept also that this was almost exclusively owing to Puccini, Eszter Sümegi, Attila Fekete and the orchestra under the baton of György Győriványi Ráth.

(Café Momus, 1, December 2008, Puccini: Manon Lescaut)

The conducting György Győriványi Ráth presented this evening was the haute ecole of rendering Verdi’s music. Hats off, otherwise it is blown away. Tight rhythmics, fine agogical movements, tension and relief, binding and loosing …. I happened to hear and enjoy Verdi “live” with conductors like (strictly alphabetically) Abbado, Barenboim, Gardelli, Levine, Mehta, Muti, Ozawa, Pál, Pappano, Patané, Solti and Vaszy. From now on I count Győriványi among the great Verdi conductors.

(Momus, June 21, 2011. - Verdi: Macbeth)

Really, the audience could be before and beyond the matrix in the course of the performance, with the foundation provided by the orchestra with their intensive and expressive play under the baton of György Győriványi Ráth. (orientpress.hu, September 8, 2011 - Bartók: Bluebeard’s castle in 3D)
The first sounds of Simon Boccanegra come from the orchestra with a beautiful velvety tone of the strings and subtle shades of dynamics. The conductor is György Győriványi Ráth. The quality this time remains reliably all the way through, the wide range of hues of the bright orchestration is sensible, the sound is pleasantly balanced and no inspired moments are lost .

(ÉS, October 7, 2011 - Verdi: Simon Boccanegra)

On the other hand, the orchestra was anything but forceless. At many points it was impossible not to focus on them. However, this does not mean that they overwhelmed the singers. The opposite. Under the baton of the conductor, György Győriványi Ráth, the orchestra played the music with temperament, impressively, and only rarely pretentiously. The night clearly proved to me that Győriványi’s true hunting field is Verdi’s romantic opera music. It would be nice if he had similar assignments in Budapest.

(Momus, October 1, 2011 – Verdi: Simon Boccanegra)

Under the fiery baton of György G. Ráth, the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra played in a great form. They rendered extremely nice hues of the waviness of the lyric Puccini style, letting the soloists shine.

(Operamagazine Nr87. 19. 03. 2013 Puccini: Madama Butterfly)

“The credit for the great success of The Marriage of Figaro goes to György Győriványi Ráth, who filled Mozart’s music with life and beauty, while Mozart’s spirit with vibrating presence.” (Nice-Martin, Nizza, February 2018, Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro)

„György Győriványi Ráth, leading the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, he is actually the general music director of the Orchestra, maintains an extraordinary standard during the whole performance. His dynamics are sparkingly exciting in perfect balance with the stage. A really well-dressed Mozart evening that made the audience in Nice delighted.” (Nice-Martin, January, 2019, Mozart: Don Giovanni)

„György Győriványi Ráth with imposing movements that hold the performance together all the way through makes sure that the singers on stage breathe in harmony with the artists of the orchestra.”(Olyrix, Nizza, November 2020, Giordano: Andrea Chénier)

„The peak of the performance was the conductor György Győriványi Ráth himself, who has been the music director the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice since 2017. He delivered a wonderful rendition again. One could feel a fulfilment right throughout the meticulously elaborated bars of the overture which provided the fundamental tone of the performance. We felt a splendid dramatic relief during the Liza-Hermann duet in Act 2 and also in the Hermann scene of Act 3. The orchestra played lightly or dramatically, as demanded by the stage.” 

(Anarclase.com, Nizza, February 2020, Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame)

“György Györiványi Ráth’s interpretation is restrained in execution and intriguing in ideas. And then there is György Györiványi Ráth on the podium of the Regional Philharmonic (FORM), proving to be the winning card of the entire production. The Hungarian conductor imposes his own clear, personal reading, imbued with solemn sanctity and grandeur that never becomes heavy or rhetorical, nor, most importantly, does it sacrifice the choice of less conventional tempos to mere display. It’s true that the initial presentation of ‘Deh perdona ad un padre che delira’ and even ‘Va’, pensiero’ are slightly faster than usual, but this doesn’t detract; instead, it draws attention to Nabucco’s anxiety, which then expands into a nostalgic flight that feels more passionate than desolate. On the other hand, we never encounter overly agitated phrasing, that fervor which is often mistaken in Verdi – and not only Verdi – for energy and drama. Instead, Ráth focuses on the controlled nobility of phrasing and the attention to orchestral polish, always sharp, smooth and velvety, or brightened as needed, reaffirming the harmony already appreciated last January” 

(Ape Musicale, Roberta Pedrotti, October 28, 2024, Verdi: Nabucco)

Nabucco inaugurated the opera season in Ancona with a surprising interpretation by György Györiványi Ráth. 

Being one of the most popular and beloved operas among audiences, Nabucco can sometimes lead conductors to rely too comfortably on well-established conventions, given that success is practically guaranteed. This is a risk many conductors face with Nabucco. However, György Györiványi Ráth, invited to the Muse Theater in Ancona to conduct the season’s opening, delivered a profound and personal reading, which turned out to be the most interesting aspect of the entire performance. 

The Hungarian conductor (winner of the 1986 Toscanini Competition at the age of twenty-five) possesses a distinctive musical personality: he did not settle for following the tracks of standard performance practice—which is always one step away from slipping into routine—to achieve a quick and predictable success. Instead, he went beyond by drawing smooth and alluring tones from the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana—which appeared more flexible than usual—and even from the Ancona wind section, which, as sometimes happens in Verdi’s works, plays offstage. He opted for a highly personal choice of tempos, now expansive, now very swift, differing from traditional ones. Right from the overture, details usually omitted emerged, such as certain staccatos; he then gave the instrumental Va’, pensiero—which Verdi foreshadows here—a new dignity, as a genuine symphonic phrase rather than a fleeting preview of what would later return. Ráth thus appeared immune to the habitual laziness of those who present this 1842 opera as a risorgimento work, especially since Verdi—thanks to the libretto provided by Solera—seems to be looking backward: more toward Rossini’s Moses than to triumphal patriotic themes. Paradoxically, this approach turns out to be much more respectful of Verdi’s intentions, almost a virtuous and concrete example of what a philological interpretation should be.

Ráth’s wide range of musical possibilities also assists the performers, allowing them to find those points of contact best suited to their individual characteristics. 

The set design was simple and economical, yet this time, it was not a drawback, as Ráth’s baton remained the production’s real strength. Indeed, it would be desirable to have more opportunities to hear him in Italy.

(Il Ponte, Giulia Vannoni, October 28, 2024, Verdi: Nabucco)