Debrecen4U
March 12, 2026
Honorary Citizen Tamás Vásáry Laid to Rest
A final farewell was paid to Tamás Vásáry in Budapest on 11 March. The world-renowned pianist and conductor passed away on 5 February in the 93rd year of his life. The Hungarian Academy of Arts, the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, and the city of Debrecen regard him as their own deceased. Gergely Gulyás, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, praised the artistic greatness and patriotism of Tamás Vásáry. In his farewell speech, Mayor László Papp said that in the figure of Debrecen’s honorary citizen all the values of the civic city were embodied.
In the summer of 2024, at the age of 91, Tamás Vásáry last conducted the Kodály Zoltán World Youth Orchestra, and this was also his final concert in his hometown. The world-renowned pianist and conductor was born in Debrecen on 11 August 1933. The musician, who received Hungary’s highest state decoration, the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, as well as the Kossuth Prize and the Liszt Ferenc Prize, along with numerous international honours, died on 5 February in the 93rd year of his life.
The final farewell to Tamás Vásáry took place in the Fiumei Road Cemetery in the capital. In his speech, Attila Turi, President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, said that Tamás Vásáry pursued his vocation with a sense of mission, directness and love, conveying the uplifting message of music. “He began as a musical prodigy and became an exceptional artist. Those who knew him, heard him, or read his personal reflections know exactly what an exceptionally pure spirit and committed sense of quality characterised him,” emphasised Attila Turi.
Alongside his unparalleled work as a performer and conductor, he also taught and set an example – this was stated in the farewell speech by Gergely Gulyás. The minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said that the catastrophe-marked era of the twentieth century formed the backdrop to the life of Tamás Vásáry. Under communism he was forced into emigration, which was characterised both by professional fulfilment and painful homesickness. Nevertheless, he remained loyal to his home and his family. “He was a Hungarian whose mission, starting from the homeland of Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and Ernő Dohnányi, spoke with natural ease to music lovers throughout the world. Yet even while living in Switzerland or London, Hungary and Debrecen remained his home, even during the long years when he could not return,” pointed out Gergely Gulyás.
Debrecen mourns its unforgettable citizen, Tamás Vásáry – an artist of exceptional talent, a sincere and honest person, a patriot and a guardian of true Debrecen identity – said Mayor László Papp in his farewell speech. The world-renowned artist never let go of Debrecen, just as the city never let go of him; therefore, after the political transition he became an honorary citizen of the city in 1996. “In his figure all the nobility of the civic city and all the values of old Debrecen were embodied. He carried within himself the self-respect of the citizens, the calm dignity of the Great Reformed Church of Debrecen, the disciplined silence of the Debrecen Reformed College, and that inner strength which can only grow from the deepest roots. From this pure source emerged that unique musical world which was at once fragile yet elemental in its power,” emphasised László Papp.
Several hundred people – relatives, friends, colleagues, students and admirers – attended the funeral to pay their respects to the memory of Tamás Vásáry.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
