Josef Suk Jr (1874 - 1935)

Born 4 Jan 1874 in Křečovice, Bohemia

Descendants

Died 29 May 1935 at age 61 in Benešov, Czechoslovakia

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Biography

Josef Suk was born in 1874. He was Dvořák’s prize pupil at the Prague Conservatory. But the relationship drew closer when Suk married the master’s oldest child, Otilie, on November 17, 1898, 25 years to the day after Antonín Dvořák’s marriage to Anna Čermák. Suk was a founding member of the Bohemian Quartet (later called the Czech Quartet), an ensemble that premiered several works by Dvořák as well as Janáček’s Quartet No. 2.

Suk composed a number of chamber works, including a Piano Trio, Piano Quartet, String Quartet and Piano Quintet. He composed two symphonies. The second, subtitled "Asrael," is a large work composed in response to the deaths of his father-in-law and wife.

Perhaps his best known work today is Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale 'St. Wenceslas', Op.35a, a stirring work of nationalism composed at the opening of World War I. Suk passed away in 1935.

His grandson was the virtuoso violinist Josef Suk.

Sources

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 28 May 2017, 22:59), entry for Josef Suk(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:9QPM-SH9); contributed by various users.
• https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Suk_star%C5%A1%C3%AD
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Quartet
• https://imslp.org/wiki/Meditation_on_the_Old_Czech_Chorale_'St._Wenceslas'%2C_Op.35a_(Suk%2C_Josef)
• John Tyrrell, "Josef Suk," New Grove Dictionary of Music, Oxford: 2001