Zuzana's story is a profound and powerful testimony of the horrors of the Holocaust, and a testament to the importance of amplifying the voices of its survivors today.
Zuzana Ruzickova grew up in 1930s Czechoslovakia dreaming of two things: Johann Sebastian Bach and the piano. But her peaceful, melodic childhood was torn apart when the Nazis invaded. Uprooted from her home, the teenage Zuzana faced a series of devastating defeats. A small slip of paper printed with her favourite piece of Bach's music became her talisman. Armed with this ‘proof that beauty still existed,' Zuzana's fierce bravery and passion ensured her survival of the greatest human atrocities of all time and would continue to sustain her through the brutalities of post-war Communist rule. Zuzana went on to become one of the twentieth century's most renowned musicians and the first harpsichordist to record the entirety of Bach's keyboard works.
“Zuzana's story, told in her own words, is of a life spent living and breathing music, triumphing in the face of the worst degradation a person can suffer.” THE BOOKSELLER