Zuzana Růžičková (; 14 January 1927 – 27 September 2017) was a Czech harpsichordist. An interpreter of classical and baroque music, Růžičková was the first harpsichordist to record Johann Sebastian Bach's complete works for keyboard, in recordings made in the 1960s and 1970s for Erato Records.

As a teenager, Růžičková was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps of Terezín and Auschwitz and transported to the Bergen-Belsen death camp. After the camp's liberation in April 1945, she returned to Plzeň later that year. Růžičková was the wife of Czech composer Viktor Kalabis. The couple both refused to join the Czechoslovak Communist Party which held power from 1948 to 1989, and faced political persecution as a result. Růžičková performed across the world for 50 years, recorded over 100 records, and taught such prominent musicians as Christopher Hogwood, Ketil Haugsand, Jaroslav Tůma, and Mahan Esfahani.

Early years

Růžičková was born in Plzeň in 1927. Her family owned a department store, and her father had spent four years in Chicago in the 1920s, working at the Ginsburg Department store. Although he had experienced success in the United States, her father returned to Czechoslovakia. Růžičková learned English from her father. Růžičková characterized her childhood as "very sweet" and her parents as "very much in love". According to Růžičková, her family was historically Jewish. Her mother was an Orthodox Jew, but her father was an atheist. Růžičková described herself as not particularly religious.

In Plzeň, 13-year-old Růžičková was among Jewish children used by the Gestapo to deliver "invitations" to members of the town's Jewish community, informing them of the date they would be deported to the camp, which Růžičková later described as seeing "life at its very worst. It was a nightmare". Růžičková, along with other children at the camp, did agricultural work, applying manure to fields and working in vegetable gardens, and was therefore able to sneak food from the gardens to her family. Although forced to work during the day, Růžičková was able to continue her education at Theresienstadt, and could attend concerts and lectures staged by the residents after work.

Slave labor in Hamburg

Růžičková was sent to Hamburg, which was being bombed regularly by the British and Americans. Under the auspices of the Neuengamme concentration camp, laborers were assigned to work in sub-camps in the area around Hamburg. Růžičková was put to work protecting and repairing an oil pipeline and maintaining gas tanks, which were subject to daily bombardment. As Allied forces advanced, the prisoners were made to dig booby-traps for tanks. In April 1945 Růžičková and the other prisoners who could still walk were ordered to march from the camp to a railway station two miles away. They returned to the camp and woke the next morning to discover the Germans had gone. The guards had abandoned the camp, leaving no food, and had disconnected the water supply. A few German and Hungarian troops remained outside the camp, randomly shooting into the barracks on occasion. On 15 April 1945 British and Canadian soldiers arrived at Bergen-Belsen.

Liberation and aftermath of WWII

Růžičková, along with many prisoners suffering from starvation, became seriously ill after eating the food rations provided by soldiers. At the time of liberation, she weighed only 70 pounds. She was taken to a hospital and treated for ulcers, typhus, malnutrition, and eventually diagnosed with malaria. Since she spoke English and several other languages, Růžičková worked as a translator for the medical staff as she recovered.

The four years Růžičková had spent in concentration camps had not only hurt her physically and psychologically, but also caused a significant delay in her progress as a musician. To be accepted into a music school, Růžičková had to pass a series of examinations. She started in classes with children to regain her fundamental skills, and managed to advance every few months, from a third grade level to the required eight grade level. Růžičková began studying piano again with Bohdan Gsölhofer in Plzeň.

After the 1948 coup by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), Růžičková was pressured to join the Communist Youth Movement, but refused. As a student in Prague, Růžičková was called in front of a committee when she was discovered reading the works of Sigmund Freud, whose literature had been banned. In 1950, Růžičková secured a position at the Academy, teaching composers to play the piano. One of her students was her future husband, Czech composer Viktor Kalabis. She gave her first harpsichord recital in 1951. As a faculty member at the Academy of Performing Arts, Růžičková was subject to performance reviews that evaluated her both professionally and politically.

As a Jew, Růžičková was still vulnerable to persecution under the Communist government. In the context of high-profile anti-Semitic political events such as the Slánský show trials of 1952, Růžičková tried to persuade Viktor Kalabis not to marry her, but they married in December 1952.

In 1956 Růžičková won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, becoming the first person to record them in their entirety.

Following the Prague Spring of 1968, the Czech government was under pressure to appear stable and progressive. Růžičková was given several state-sponsored rewards, which served as propaganda for the regime. Růžičková was unable to refuse these rewards and was often forced to accept them with great ceremony. She was a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic from 1979–1990.

After the Velvet Revolution

Following the Velvet Revolution of 17 November 1989, Růžičková participated in the protests against the government, going on strike from the Academy of Music and the Czech Philharmonic. When the Communist regime was overthrown in December, Růžičková received the title of "Professor", which she had not been granted despite teaching at the Academy since 1951, and was able to serve as a committee member for music competitions. She also established a harpsichord class at the Music Academy in Bratislava, where she had been guest professor from 1978–1982. For twenty-five years she gave master classes in Zürich, as well as other classes in Stuttgart, Kraków, Budapest, Riga, and Tokyo. through which she was able to fund a memorial for Fredy Hirsch.

Later years and legacy

Růžičková was married to Viktor Kalabis for 54 years, and inspired him to compose several major works for harpsichord: Six Two-Part Canonic Inventions (1962), Aquarelles (1979), Preludio, Aria e Toccata (1992), and Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings (1975). Contemporary composers have also dedicated works to her, including Jan Rychlík's Hommagi clavicembalistici (1964), and she premiered works by Emil Hlobil, Hans-Georg Görner and Elizabeth Maconchy. Růžičková was also an influential teacher. Among her students were the late British harpsichordist and conductor Christopher Hogwood and the Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani.

In 2013 Supraphon released new CDs of Růžičková's work, and British harpsichordist Pamela Nash wrote about her in the June 2013 edition of the British Sounding Board magazine:<blockquote>Acclaimed as 'The first lady of the harpsichord,' and recognized by many as Landowska's successor, her career has left the harpsichord world a legacy, documented by over 100 recordings, spanning half a century... this timely commemoration serves as a timely reminder of Ruzickova's invaluable role in promoting the harpsichord in the 20th century. She made enormous strides to establish the instrument as a solo and ensemble concert instrument, and there can be no doubt that the status of the harpsichord today owes much to her pioneering efforts. Embarking on a career when early harpsichord repertoire was barely acknowledged, or else relegated to the piano, she resolved to re-connect Baroque keyboard music to the instrument for which it was written; in her own words 'to rid the harpsichord of its museum nature and make it a living instrument.'" </blockquote>

In October 2016, her entire recordings of all of J.S Bach's keyboard works in remastered form were released by Warner Records/Erato. Supraphon has reissued several CDs of collections of Růžičková's earlier recordings.

Růžičková appeared in a 2017 documentary film about her life and music, Zuzana: Music is Life, directed by Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon Getzels. Until her death Růžičková resided in Prague. In December 2016, a month before her 90th birthday, she revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer and had undergone chemotherapy.

In 2019, her posthumous autobiography, One Hundred Miracles, written with Wendy Holden, was published by Bloomsbury, and translated into ten languages.

Partial list of awards and recognitions

Titles

  • Artist of Merit, 1968 (CZ)
  • Nation Artist, 1989 (CZ)
  • Professor of the Academy of Music in Prague, 1990 (CZ)
  • Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, 2004 (Fr)

Prizes

  • Grand Prix Cros (J.A. Benda, J.S. Bach)
  • Diapason d’Or (Henry Purcell)
  • Golden Disc Supraphone (300,000 LPs, CDs, and tapes sold)

Honours

  • Hon. Member: Direktorium "Neue Bachgesellschaft" Leipzig
  • NEMA (National Early Music Association of Great Britain)
  • The Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Music
  • Honorary Citizen of the town Jindřichův Hradec (CZ)
  • Honorary Citizen of the Prague 3 district (CZ)

References

  • Biography (in Czech)
  • Czech radio interview
  • France honours Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Ruzickova
  • Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Endowment Fund, Prague
  • The Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation, Washington DC
  • 'Zuzana: Music is Life' overview website