His one-act opera C'est la guerre (1961) quickly established his reputation, and soon became part of theopera repertoire. It occupies a similarly important place in his output as does oratorio The Book fo Jonah, which is based on a poem by Mihály Babits. The composer's various choral, chamber and instrumentalworks are very familiar and are widely used as set pieces in music competitions.

Petrovics' contribution to musical and public life in Hungary has been recognised by the award of many prizes: the Erkel (1960, 1963), the Kossuth (1966), and the Bartók-Pásztory (1989, 2000).

He was a long time director of the Opera House in Budapest and President of the Hungarian Copyright Association. He has been elected to the membership of many learned societies - among them The Széchenyi Literary and Artistic Academy - and has held important teaching posts at the Academy of Drama and Film, and the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.