IDAGIO | Suk: Prague - A Summer's Tale 5059864510939

Featuring

Jiří Bělohlávek
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Josef Suk

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Composer Biography

Suk was the second violinist of the famous České (Bohemian) String Quartet for over thirty years and was also an accomplished pianist.

Composition History

Suk's Prague was deeply influenced by personal tragedy in 1904, including the deaths of his father-in-law Antonín Dvořák and his beloved wife Otilka, Dvořák's eldest daughter.

Compositional Technique

The third movement of A Summer's Tale, 'Intermezzo', features an unusual scoring for two cors anglais, two harps, solo violin, solo viola, and a small string ensemble.

Composer Biography

Suk studied with Dvořák, who later became his father-in-law, and was part of an important group of Czech composers building on the national foundations of Smetana and Dvořák.

Composer Biography

Josef Suk, the composer, was the son of a village schoolmaster, organist, and choirmaster, and studied violin at the Prague Conservatory.

Composition History

The symphonic poem Prague was conceived by Suk while on tour in Spain with the České Quartet in 1904, reflecting the history and mystery of his home city.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Suk saw his symphonic poems, including A Summer's Tale, as a cycle following an entire human life, contemplating death and horror, but concluding with the 'excited singing of an emancipated human race'.