Birth

:

January 14, 1927

Death

:

September 27, 2017

Period

:

Baroque

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Concerto

 

 

Keyboard

 

Zuzanna Ruzickova was a Czech classical music artist who was widely regarded as one of the greatest harpsichordists of the 20th century. She was born on January 14, 1927, in Plzen, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), to a family of musicians. Her father was a violinist and her mother was a pianist, and they both encouraged her to pursue a career in music. Ruzickova began playing the piano at the age of three and later switched to the harpsichord, which became her primary instrument. She studied at the Prague Conservatory and later at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where she was a student of the renowned harpsichordist and musicologist Zuzana Ruzickova. In 1956, Ruzickova won first prize at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, which launched her career as a soloist. She went on to perform extensively throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan, and recorded over 100 albums of baroque and classical music. Ruzickova was particularly known for her interpretations of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and she was considered one of the foremost authorities on his keyboard works. She was also a champion of lesser-known composers, such as Jan Dismas Zelenka and Johann Jakob Froberger, and she recorded many of their works. Throughout her career, Ruzickova received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to classical music. In 1989, she was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, one of the highest honors in the Czech Republic, for her cultural achievements. She was also awarded the Medal of Merit by the Czech Ministry of Culture in 1997 and the Medal of Honor by the Czech Senate in 2002. In addition to her performing career, Ruzickova was also a respected musicologist and teacher. She taught at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and she published several books on baroque music and the harpsichord. Ruzickova continued to perform and record well into her 80s, despite suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for much of her life. She passed away on September 27, 2017, at the age of 90, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest harpsichordists of all time.

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