began his musical career as a coach and conductor at the City Theatre of Békécsaba in Hungary (1976–79). At the age of 23 he took up conducting studies with István Párkai at the Academy of Music in Budapest, graduating in 1984.

He was twice awarded a Soros Foundation Scholarship for studies in Milan and Paris (1988, 1989). He participated in the seminars given by Péter Eötvös during the Bartók Festival (1985–89) and subsequently worked as Eötvös’s assistant in the Institute of New Music at the Karlsruhe Academy of Music (1990–95). In 1995–97 he served as Music Director of the Institute of Music Theatre. He was a guest lecturer at the International Eötvös Institute in Stuttgart (1995), Cologne (1997), and Edenkoben (1998, 2006, 2009). Since 1999 he has held the post of Chief Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Israel Contemporary Players. Between 2002 and 2014 he was appointed professor of conducting at the Paris Conservatoire. He was Artistic Director of the conducting masterclasses organized by the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava and of the Young Conductors’ Masterclass for New Music held at the Music Centre in Jerusalem.

Zsolt Nagy has worked with many leading orchestras, choirs, and ensembles. In his professional activity, teaching plays an important role as well. He teaches conducting classes in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America, and runs chamber music and academy orchestras projects, notably with Arc-en-Ciel, Ensemble of the Zurich Hochschule der Künste, and Ensemble Boswil Switzerland.

Zsolt Nagy has over 800 first performances to his credit, as well as numerous radio recordings and CDs. He received a special award for the promotion of new Israeli music.