Josef Suk (composer)
Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist.
Life
Suk was born in Křečovice. He studied at Prague Conservatory from 1885 to 1892, where he was a pupil of Antonín Dvořák and Antonín Bennewitz. In 1898, he married Dvořák's eldest daughter, Otilie Dvořáková (1878–1905), affectionately known as Otilka.[1] In 1901, she bore him their only son, Josef (1901 – 1951).[2] Otilie died in 1905, and the composer never remarried.
He formed the Czech Quartet with three of his fellow students — Suk played second violin with them for most of his life. From 1922 he taught at the Prague Conservatory where his pupils included Bohuslav Martinů, Rudolf Firkušný and Manoah Leide-Tedesco. He died in Benešov.
Work
Suk's early works show the influence of Dvořák and Johannes Brahms, while later pieces use more extended harmonies to create a personal and complex style. Unlike many of his countrymen, he made little use of Czech folk music. His best known works are probably the youthful Serenade for Strings (1892) and the Asrael Symphony in C minor, (1906), a work written in response both to the death in 1904 of his father-in-law, and the next year of his wife. (Norman Lebrecht listed Václav Talich's 1952 recording of the Asrael Symphony with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as one of the 100 best recordings of the century.[3]) Other pieces include the Fairy Tale suite "Raduz and Mahulena" (1898), the cycle of piano works Things Lived and Dreamed (1909), and the trilogy of symphonic poems A Summer's Tale (1909), The Ripening (1917) and Epilogue (1929, for soprano, baritone and bass soli, chorus and orchestra).
Suk won a silver medal at the Art Competitions during the Olympic Games of 1932 at Los Angeles with his work Toward a New Life. He was the grandfather of acclaimed violinist Josef Suk.
Chronological list of compositions
See also: List of compositions by Josef Suk.
- 1888 String Quartet (0) in D minor (Barcarolle in B flat & Andante con moto survive)
- 1889 Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 2 (rev. 1890-91)
- 1890 Ballade in D minor, for string quartet or violin & piano
- 1890 Ballade in D minor, Op. 3, No. 1, cello & piano (rev. 1898)
- 1890 Serenade in A, cello & piano, Op. 3, No. 2 (rev. 1898)
- 1891 Three Songs without Words, piano
- 1891 Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 1
- 1891-92 Dramatic Overture, Op. 4, orchestra
- 1891-93 Six Pieces for piano, Op. 7
- 1892 Fantasy-Polonaise, piano, Op. 5
- 1892 Serenade for Strings in E flat, Op. 6
- 1893 Melody for young violinists, for 2 violins
- 1893 Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 8 (rev. 1915)
- 1894 A Winter's Tale, Shakespeare Overture for orchestra, Op. 9 (rev. 1926)
- 1894 Humoresque in C, piano (or 1897)
- 1895 Album Leaf, piano
- 1895 Five Moods, Op. 10, piano
- 1895-96 Eight Pieces, Op. 12, piano
- 1896 String Quartet No. 1 in B flat, Op. 11 : Finale Allegro Giocoso (second version; rev. 1915)
- 1896 String Quartet No. 1 in B flat, Op. 11
- 1897 Piano Sonatina in G minor, Op. 13 : Andante, included in Four Episodes for piano
- 1897 Suite for piano, Op. 13 (rev. 1900 as Op. 21)
- 1897 Piano Sonatina in G minor, Op. 13 (rev 1900; Minuet arr string quartet, Op. 21a)
- 1897 Village Serenade for piano
- 1897-98 Raduz & Mahulena: A Fairy Tale Suite for orchestra, Op. 16 (rev. 1912)
- 1897-99 Symphony No. 1 in E, Op. 14
- 1898 Bagatelle, Op. 14, piano (originally the third movement of Symphony No. 1 in E)
- 1900 Four Pieces for violin & piano, Op. 17
- 1901 Under the Apple Tree, Op. 20, cantata after Zeyer for mezzo-soprano & orchestra, arr. 1911-12
- 1902 Spring, Op. 22a, five pieces for piano
- 1902 Summer Impressions, Op. 22b, three pieces for piano
- 1902 Elegy for violin, cello, string quartet, harmonium & harp, Op. 23; also arranged for Piano Trio
- 1903 Fantasy in G minor, violin & orchestra, Op. 24
- 1903 Fantastic Scherzo, Op. 25, orchestra
- 1904 Prague, Op. 26, symphonic poem for orchestra
- 1905-6 Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Asrael", Op. 27
- 1907 About Mother, five pieces for piano, Op. 28
- 1907-8 A Summer's Tale, Op. 29, orchestra
- 1909 Ella-Polka, included in Four Episodes for piano
- 1909 Things Lived and Dreamed, Op. 30, ten pieces for piano
- 1909 Spanish Joke, piano
- 1910-12 Six Lullabies, Op. 33, piano
- 1911 String Quartet No. 2, Op. 31
- 1912-17 Ripening, Op. 34, symphonic poem for orchestra
- 1914 Meditation on the Saint Wenceslas Chorale, Op. 35a, strings or string-quartet
- 1917 Bagatelle with Nosegay in Hand, flute violin & piano
- 1919 Album Leaf, included in Four Episodes for piano
- 1919 Minuet, violin & piano
- 1919-20 Legend of Dead Victors, Commemoration for orchestra, Op. 35b
- 1919-20 Toward a New Life, Sokol March, Op. 35c, orchestra
- 1920 About Friendship, Op. 36, piano
- 1920-29 Epilogue, Op. 37, text from Zeyer & Psalms, for soprano, baritone, bass, mixed chous & orchestra, rev 1930-33
- 1924 About Christmas Day, included in Four Episodes for piano
- 1932 Beneath Blanik, march arr Kalas for orchestra
- 1935 Sousedska, for five violins, double-bass, cymbals, triangle, side-drum & bass-drum
Notes
- ^ Antonín Dvořák - data
- ^ Černušák (1965), p. 641
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, "Masterpieces: 100 Milestones of the Recorded Century" The Life and Death of Classical Music. New York: Anchor Books (2007): 181 - 182
References
- Černušák, Gracián (ed.); Štědroň, Bohumír; Nováček, Zdenko (ed.) (1965). Československý hudební slovník II. M-Ž. Prague: Státní hudební vydavatelství. p. 641. (Czech)
External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Suk, Josef |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth |
4 January 1874 |
| Place of birth |
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| Date of death |
29 May 1935 |
| Place of death |
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