He earned his conducting degree in 1973 as a student of András Kórodi and Albert Simon, and later he also graduated as a pianist. In 1973 he became a member of the Hungarian State Opera, and he was contracted as a conductor from 1976. He was the principal conductor of the State Opera between 1987 and 2002, its acting general music director between 2006 and 2007, and its acting general director for a short time in August, 2011.
Between 1979 and 1981 he worked as an assistant conductor of the Bayreuth Festival, and was a guest conductor at the Badisches Staatstheater, the Bratislava National Theatre and the Komische Oper in Berlin. He was the principal guest conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic for several years, and is currently the principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic.
He has performed as a guest conductor in many European cities with the company of the Hungarian State Opera and the Hungarian National Philharmonic, touring in Germany, Spain, Brazil and China, among others. In 2001 he became the principal guest conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Company. As a guest conductor, he has conducted almost every Hungarian orchestra, and has performed with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra and the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra. In the 2014/2015 season he was the principal conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
His repertoire includes classical and romantic operas as well as contemporary pieces, he has conducted the world premieres of several Hungarian pieces.
Several of his CD recordings have been released by major music labels. He has worked with such outstanding Hungarian artists as Ildikó Komlós, Éva Marton, Andrea Rost, László Polgár, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki and János Starker.
In recognition of his art, János Kovács was awarded, among others, the Liszt Ferenc Prize (1985), the Meritorious Artist of Hungary Prize (1996), the Gundel Art Prize (2004), and the Béla Bartók–Ditta Pásztory Prize (2007). In 2001 he was awarded the Kossuth Prize for his internationally renowned conductorship, representing outstanding value in the interpretation of classical music genres, for his perfect resolution of orchestral work in the spirit of music, and in recognition of his exemplary artistic activity. In 2010 he became the life member of the Hungarian State Opera, and in 2016 its Master Artist. In 2015 he was awarded the Prima Primissima Prize, in 2018 the Middle Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit, Civil Division. In 2019 he was awarded the Artisjus Performing Arts Award, and in 2020 the Lifetime Achievement Award of Cziffra Festival.
Photo: port.hu