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'Josef Suk' (January 4, 1874 – May 29, 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist.
Suk was born in Křečovice. He studied at Prague Conservatory from 1885 to 1892, where he was a pupil of Antonín Dvořák (he married Dvořák's daughter in 1898). 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 and Rudolf Firkušný. He died in Benešov.
Suk's early works show the influence of Dvořák and Johannes Brahms, while later pieces use more extended harmonies to create a more 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 symphony, ''Asrael'' (1906), a work written in response to the deaths of his wife and Dvořák. Other pieces include the ''Fairy Tale Suite'' (1900), 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 ''Epilog'' (1929, for chorus and orchestra).
He won a silver medal at the Art Competitions during the Olympic Games of 1932 at Los Angeles with his work ''Into a New Life''.
Suk was the grandfather of the violinist Josef Suk.
Chronological list of compositions:
1888 String Quartet (0) d: Barcarolle Bb & Andante con moto survive

1889 op2 rev1890-91 Piano Trio c

1890 Ballade d, for string quartet or violin & piano

1890 op3/1 rev1898 Ballade d, cello & piano

1890 op3/2 rev1898 Serenade A, cello & piano

1891 Three Songs without Words, piano

1891 op1 Piano Quartet a

1891-92 op4 Dramatic Overture a, orchestra

1891-93 op7 Six Pieces for piano

1892 op5 Fantasy-Polonaise, piano

1892 op6 Serenade for Strings Eb

1893 Melody for young violinists, for 2 violins

1893 op8 rev1915 Piano Quintet g

1894 op9 rev1926 A Winter's Tale, Shakespeare Overture for orchestra

1894 or 1897? Humoresque C, piano

1895 Album Leaf, piano

1895 op10 Five Moods, piano

1895-96 op12 Eight Pieces, piano

1896 op11 rev1915 String Quartet 1 Bb: Finale Allegro Giocoso (second version)

1896 op11 String Quartet 1 Bb

1897 op13 Piano Sonatina g: Andante, included in Four Episodes for piano

1897 op13 rev1900 op21 Suite for piano

1897 op13 rev1900 op21a arr19?? Piano Sonatina g: Minuet arr string quartet

1897 Village Serenade for piano

1897-98 op16 rev1912 Raduz & Mahulena: A Fairy Tale Suite for orchestra

1897-99 op14 Symphony 1 E

1898 op14 Bagatelle (originally the third movement of Symphony 1 E), piano

1900 op17 Four Pieces for violin & piano

1901 op20 arr1911-2 Under the Apple Tree, cantata after Zeyer for mezzo-soprano & orchestra

1902 op22a Spring, five pieces for piano

1902 op22b Summer Impressions, three pieces for piano

1902 op23 Elegy for violin, cello, string quartet, harmonium & harp; also arranged for Piano Trio

1903 op24 Fantasy g, violin & orchestra

1903 op25 Fantastic Scherzo, orchestra

1904 op26 Prague, symphonic poem for orchestra

1905-6 op27 Symphony 2 c, Asrael

1907 op28 About Mother, five pieces for piano

1907-8 op29 A Summer's Tale, orchestra

1909 Ella-Polka, included in Four Episodes for piano

1909 op30 Things Lived & Dreamed, ten pieces for piano

1909 Spanish Joke, piano

1910-12 op33 Six Lullabies, piano

1911 op31 String Quartet 2

1912-17 op34 Ripening, symphonic poem for orchestra

1914 op35a Meditation on the Saint Wenceslas Chorale, 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 op35b Legend of Dead Victors, Commemoration for orchestra

1919-20 op35c Toward a New Life, Sokol March, orchestra

1920 op36 About Friendship, piano

1920-29 op37 rev1930-33 Epilogue, text from Zeyer & Psalms, for soprano, baritone, bass, mixed chous & orchestra

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

Contents

External links

External links

★ Josef Suk:Piano Works

★ Josef Suk Piano Trio in c, Op.2 and String Quartet No.1, Op.11--sound-clips & short bio