Rudolf Bruci studied music at the Zagreb Academy (until 1936) and composition at the Belgrade Academy (1946-9) with Petar Bingulac. In 1953 he took composition lessons with Uhl at the Vienna Music Academy. He began his career as a violinist in the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (1945-50), opera orchestras and a string quartet, and he also took up conducting. He was appointed opera conductor at the Novi Sad People's Theatre in 1950, and director of the Isidor Bajic Music School, Novi Sad, in 1954.

Rudolf Bruci's music is marked by a clarity of expression and a desire to incorporate new ideas into what is basically a conventional approach. His use of bitonality, polytonality and atonality is always sensitive and considered, and normally enlivened by a strong rhythmic verve and brilliant orchestration; he has made occasional use of serial methods, but never completely or strictly. The symphonic suite Maskal, the ballet Night on the Railway and the cantata Covek je vidik bez kraja are fine examples of the application of these qualities. Central to his work, however, are his large-scale symphonic pieces, of which the best known is the Sinfonia lesta of 1965, which won the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1966. His full-length opera Gilgames (1986) represents a synthesis of the best of his work, incorporating rich orchestration, clear rhythmic structures and archaic choral writing.