Dvorak - Waltzes op 54 no 1 & 4
Mozart - Piano concerto no 12
Zuzana Simurdova - piano
Dvorak - String Quartet No 12 in F Major, Op. 96 ‘American’
Soloist
Zuzana Šimurdová is a Canadian pianist of Czech origin, fascinated by classical and contemporary music. A Graduate from the Université de Montréal (D.E.S.S.) and Concordia University Montréal, (DAMPS) (Canada), Janáček Conservatory Ostrava (DiS.) and Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts Brno (MgA.) (Czech Republic), Zuzana continued her studies under the guidance of Professor Renna Kellaway from the Royal Northern College of Music (UK). (Socrates/Erasmus scholarship).
She is a Laureate of the UNESCO Award in Paris for her performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. Zuzana is a winner of the 1st Prize at the International Music Competition in London and the 1st Prize at the International Piano Masterclasses Competition "Prague-Vienna-Budapest". She made her Carnegie Hall Debut as a Winner of the Chopin Award at the IBLA Grand Prize International Competition and her debut performances in South Korea & China as part of the ZUMI Piano Duo, formed together with her husband, Dr. Mikolaj Warszynski.
In 2022, ZUMI was awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, for their “Contemporary Music Project”. Zuzana is also very honoured for being awarded a grant for the “Canadian Women in Music Project” from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
During the year of 2020/21, due to public health restrictions, Zuzana was able to live-stream a series of solo and ZUMI Piano Duo concerts from her home studio in collaboration with Music at Southminister in Ottawa, SVU Society of Alberta, TKP Edmonton. She has also performed as a soloist and collaborative artist for on-line concerts at the University of Alberta, for the Wirth Institute, and at the Winspear Centre for the Arts for the series “From Stage to Screen”.
In November 2019, she gave a Canadian premiere performance of the Piano Concertino H.264 by Bohuslav Martinu with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, Zuzana performed the Beethoven “Emperor” Concerto with the West Bohemian Symphony Ochestra. Her latest CD of Complete Piano Sonatas by Czech contemporary composer, Luboš Fišer (world premiere recording), was released for NAXOS, Grand Piano. Previously, she recorded the complete “Préludes à un pays vrai”by Québecois composer Jean Chatillon, for which she received the Vivacité Montreal award.
She has given solo and chamber concerts in Europe/ USA/ Canada, Russia and South Korea. Selected venues took place: Carnegie Weill Hall in New York, Royal Festival Hall in London, Leeds Town Hall, Salle Claude Champagne in Montreal, Besedni House in Brno, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall in Montreal, Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Villa Criscone in Ragusa, Rolston Recital Hall in Banff, Convocation and Muttard Hall in Edmonton, Philharmonic House of Gustav Mahler in Jihlava, Hoyeum Art Hall in Daegu, Baltic Philharmonic House in Gdansk.
Zuzana Šimurdová has been featured artist on radio broadcast in Czech and Canada and made her TV appearance on France 2, CT 2, CT1 and OMNI TV Toronto. Mrs. Zuzana Šimurdová speaks fluently English, French, Czech, Polish and loves Art!