Josef Suk

Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 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 and Antonín Bennewitz. In 1898, he married Dvořák's eldest daughter, Otilie Dvořáková (1878–1905), affectionately known as Otilka. He formed the Czech Quartet with three of his fellow students — Suk played second violin with them for most of his life. F... more

Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 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 and Antonín Bennewitz. In 1898, he married Dvořák's eldest daughter, Otilie Dvořáková (1878–1905), affectionately known as Otilka. 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 Asrael symphony in C minor, (1906), a work written in response to the deaths, firstly, of his father-in... less