We’re about to leave Bohemia, but not without paying attention to Josef Suk (1874-1935).
Suk was a pupil of Dvořák, and also his son-in-law. Besides that, he was the second violinist of the famous ‘Bohemians’, later known as the Czech String Quartet. His String Quartet No. 1 in B flat major, opus 11, dates from 1896. Like Fibich and Foerster, Josef Suk had little affinity with folk music, at least not in the folkloristic sense of the word. The first quartet is an expressive and enchanting work. In 1915, Suk revised the score of this quartet and then replaced the last movement with a longer, more complicated and, above all, more modern final movement, which he removed again later. However, it can still be performed as Quartet Movement in B flat major.
This programme concludes with three short works: Barcarolle in D minor, composed by Suk as fourteen-year-old student, Ballad in D minor, an arrangement of a piano work from 1890, and a Minuet, which was originally composed for piano in Suite, opus 21, but was arranged for string quartet in 1900.
Josef Suk – String Quartet in B flat major, opus 11 (1896, revised 1915)
1. Allegro moderato, 2. Intermezzo, 3. Adagio, 4. Allegro giocoso
Performed by: Minguet Quartet
CD: CPO
Josef Suk – Quartet Movement in B flat major
Performed by: Minguet Quartet
CD: CPO
Josef Suk – Three separate short compositions:
Barcarolle (1888), Ballad in D (1890) and Minuet (1897/1900)
Performed by: Minguet Quartet
CD: CPO
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