Ruzickova Composition Competition
In summer 2020, while the global Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing, we launched an innovative Composition Competition. Not content to simply sit around during lockdown turning our brains to mush with the next Netflix boxed set, violinist Ada Witczyk, festival manager Nick Hardisty and film director Simon Helbling challenged composers to write NEW pieces for BAROQUE instruments.
Inspired by the example of Zuzana Ruzickova, one of the leading harpsichordists of the 20th century, we decided to name our competition in her memory and would like to encourage you to read more about Zuzana here.
Every year the format changed and so did the repertoire:
Year 1 we asked for miniatures for baroque violin and harpsichord
Year 2 was all about string quartets
Year 3 concentrated on ensemble pieces for baroque violin, viola da gamba, flute and harpsichord
Year 4 challenged composers and asked for concertos for baroque violin and orchestra
Year 5 was a year of sonatas for baroque violin(s) and harpsichord
Wait... 5 years already?!
1 digital album
10 published scores
10 new music videos
46 countries participated:
UK, USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Thailand, Italy, Indonesia, Poland, Iran, Sweden, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Colombia, Hungary, Finland, Argentina, Australia, China, Turkey, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Turkmenistan, France, Greece, Portugal Ireland, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Russia, Slovakia, Singapore, Chile, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan, Serbia, Spain, Czech Republic, Finland, Madagascar and Japan
over 200 new pieces composed !
+2.2K YouTube subscribers
+10K Instagram subscribers
+149.8K YouTube channel views
Competition Winners
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
An album featuring winning pieces is to be released in early 2025 by First Hand Records.
Generously supported by:
Partners:
