Zuzana:  Music Is Life

ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE is the triumphant story told by Zuzana Ruzickova, who lived to be 90, and how she became a world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, after surviving three concentration camps during her teenage years. Zuzana Ruzickova’s story is remarkable not just because she returned to Czechoslovakia after the war to fulfill her childhood dream of a career in music; but also in how she navigated Communist and anti-Semitic persecution at home, while becoming a tour-de-force in concerts and competitions around the world. After the fall of Communism in 1989, Zuzana and her husband, famed Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, worked tirelessly to bring musical education to people throughout the Czech Republic. They are widely credited with helping create Prague’s international reputation as a musical city.

When we embarked on this production, the idea resonated with historical meaning. Three years later, with the rise of fascist politics around the world, Zuzana’s first-hand accounts are imbued with stark, cautionary meaning. Few films this harrowing leave people feeling buoyant and inspired. Zuzana’s story resonates with optimism and the conviction that her survival was due not just to a hundred miracles, but to her love of music, especially Bach.

SELECTION OF AWARDS AND HONORS

2017 – UK Music Critics Circle Special Award
2016 – Dame of Czech Culture Award
2013 – Garnet Star for Lifetime Contribution to Czech Culture, Bohemian Heritage Fund
2004 – Chevalier des Arts et des Lettre (France)
2004 – Medal of Merit 2. Grade for Arts and Culture of the President of the Czech Republic
2001 – Medal of “Harmony“ Musical Review
2001 –  Prize for Contribution to Czech and World Music
1997 – Medal for Contribution to “Golden Funds of Supraphone”
1993 – Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft der Freistadt Hamburg
1989 – National  Artist (CZ)
Professor or the Academy of Music in Prague (CZ)
1968 – Artist of Merit (CZ)
1956 – International Music Competition, Munich, First Prize
Grand Prix Charles Cros (J. A. Benda, J. S. Bach)
Diapason d´Or (Henry Purcell)
Golden Disc Supraphone (300 000 LP´s, CD´s and tapes sold)

Honorary Member: Direktorium “Neue Bachgesellschaft“ Leipzig
National Early Music Association of Great Britain
The Dvorak Society for Czech Music
Honorary citizen of the town Jindrichuv Hradec (Czech Republic)
Honorary citizen of the township Praha 3

Zuzanna: Music is Life: https://www.zuzanathemovie.com/

ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE is the triumphant story told by Zuzana Ruzickova, who lived to be 90, and how she became a world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, after surviving three concentration camps during her teenage years. Zuzana Ruzickova’s story is remarkable not just because she returned to Czechoslovakia after the war to fulfill her childhood dream of a career in music; but also in how she navigated Communist and anti-Semitic persecution at home, while becoming a tour-de-force in concerts and competitions around the world. After the fall of Communism in 1989, Zuzana and her husband, famed Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, worked tirelessly to bring musical education to people throughout the Czech Republic. They are widely credited with helping create Prague’s international reputation as a musical city.

When we embarked on this production, the idea resonated with historical meaning. Three years later, with the rise of fascist politics around the world, Zuzana’s first-hand accounts are imbued with stark, cautionary meaning. Few films this harrowing leave people feeling buoyant and inspired. Zuzana’s story resonates with optimism and the conviction that her survival was due not just to a hundred miracles, but to her love of music, especially Bach.

SELECTION OF AWARDS AND HONORS

2017 – UK Music Critics Circle Special Award
2016 – Dame of Czech Culture Award
2013 – Garnet Star for Lifetime Contribution to Czech Culture, Bohemian Heritage Fund
2004 – Chevalier des Arts et des Lettre (France)
2004 – Medal of Merit 2. Grade for Arts and Culture of the President of the Czech Republic
2001 – Medal of “Harmony“ Musical Review
2001 –  Prize for Contribution to Czech and World Music
1997 – Medal for Contribution to “Golden Funds of Supraphone”
1993 – Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft der Freistadt Hamburg
1989 – National  Artist (CZ)
Professor or the Academy of Music in Prague (CZ)
1968 – Artist of Merit (CZ)
1956 – International Music Competition, Munich, First Prize
Grand Prix Charles Cros (J. A. Benda, J. S. Bach)
Diapason d´Or (Henry Purcell)
Golden Disc Supraphone (300 000 LP´s, CD´s and tapes sold)

Honorary Member: Direktorium “Neue Bachgesellschaft“ Leipzig
National Early Music Association of Great Britain
The Dvorak Society for Czech Music
Honorary citizen of the town Jindrichuv Hradec (Czech Republic)
Honorary citizen of the township Praha 3

Zuzanna: Music is Life: https://www.zuzanathemovie.com/