Rudolf Růžička
Born 1941 in Brno. Distinguished personality in twentieth century Czech music. Following his education at the Conservatory of Music in Brno (1958-62), Ruzicka studied composition at the Janacek Academy of Musical and Dramatic Arts. The creative impact of his teachers, T.Schaefer and M.Istvan (1962-67), and that of M.Kabelac (1967-69) -- a composer specializing among other subjects in electroacoustic music education -- appears to have been of significant importance in shaping the aesthetic, rational ideas and thoughts of this future composer, music pedagogue, theorist, and musicologist.
Ruzicka's varied stylistic development, reflecting all the traditional values in the qualitative aspects of his extensive vocal, chamber and orchestral works, later crystallized into his preoccupation with and dedication to the specific genre of electroacoustic and computer music. Ruzicka, who was harassed by the former communist regime for his wholehearted defense of what was then known as the "alternative" art, stood up for the rights of experimental music, which was by that time growing in popularity with the public. The composer has also done his very best to introduce his own humanitarian and democratic principles and attitudes in his work as a pedagogue in the field of electroacoustic and computer composition at the Janacek Academy and Technical University in Brno, where he has been since 1969 to this day. His compositions are noted for neo-avantgarde techniques, whereby a computer is used to calculate new entities of compositional material, with innovations to compositional processes both in formal and structural terms. Ruzicka embarked here on the road of searching for modern sources of inspiration, sharing in the shaping of what turned out to be a spontaneous counterpart to the overabundant and omnipresent computer technology (CCOMP). His orchestral, chamber, vocal, electroacoustic and computer compositions are successfully performed in many countries.
Over the years Ruzicka's artistic endeavors have been awarded on many occasions, primarily with the first prize for his composition Gurges (1970) in the international competition Musica Nova, organized in Czechoslovakia. His Tibia No.1 and Crucifixion I. both received top prizes, the former at the Marcel Josse competition in Paris (1984), and the latter at the competition "Mariazell '93" in Salzburg. This was followed by a host of other prizes and honorary diplomas as well as invitations to lecture at the 10th ICCM (International Conference of Computer Music) in Paris (1984), in Napoli (1985), in Slovakia - Mathematics and Music (1985-96), Darmstadt (1988), Linz (1988-89), Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Prague (1988-89), Tallinn (1990), Computer Aided Research UNESCO (1991), Sofia (1991), Society for Science and Art, Washington D.C. (1992), Wien (1993), Bratislava (1992-95), FORFEST Kromeriz (1995) and elsewhere. Ruzicka's work has also received informal awards, notably his appointment from 1986 to 1993 as a permanent member of the jury of the International Computer Music Competition NEWCOMP, an event annually held in Boston, and in 1992 up to now as the chairman of the jury of the International Electroacoustic Music Competition MUSICA NOVA in Prague. For distinguished activities in music composition he was decorated with an honorary diploma from the Masaryk Academy of Art in Prague, and with the honorary membership of the Confederation of Chivalry in Sydney.
As for Ruzicka's career as composer, mention should be undoubtedly made of his activities in the avant-garde "A" art group -- his compositional partnership with other composers -- or his involvement in various domestic and foreign associations. Also noteworthy was Ruzicka's intense activity as chairman of the Society for Electroacoustic Music of the Czech Republic, and as a member of the Association of Musical Artists and Scientists, the Czech Union of Computer and Multimedia Artists in Prague, the Society for Unconventional Music in Bratislava, the Gesellschaft fur Elektroakustische Musik in Austria, the Computer Music and Musical Informatics Association in Tallinn, the Electroacoustic Music Association of Great Britain, the International Computer Music Association (ICMA) in San Francisco, and in the Paris-based Guide International des Arts Electroniques. Ruzicka is now making use of his extensive musical knowledge and rich experience in producing his own radio programs, giving specialized lectures, writing scholarly papers and in popularizing the sphere of electroacoustic and computer music.
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