Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk (January 4, 1874 - May 29, 1935) was… Read Full Bio ↴Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk (January 4, 1874 - May 29, 1935) was born in Křečovice, Czechia. 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 Competititions 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
Composer Suk was the grandfather of the violinist Josef Suk, therfore are two musicians named Josef Suk: 1. A classical composer. 2. His grandson, a classical violinist.
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 Competititions 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
Composer Suk was the grandfather of the violinist Josef Suk, therfore are two musicians named Josef Suk: 1. A classical composer. 2. His grandson, a classical violinist.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Toward a New Life
Josef Suk Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Tegan Bigone
This is not just a masterpiece - it's AN OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNING MASTERPIECE!
Just like the Ancient Greek Olympics (which, although dedicated to Zeus, was a celebration of The Muses, traditional bestowers of talents on Humans from which we get the words 'music' & 'amused' & 'amusing' & 'amusement'), the modern Summer Olympic Games included medal-winning competition events in the Arts - not just the brute barbaric sporting events its been reduced to today. Until 1948, the Olympic Games included medal-winning events in FIVE CATEGORIES of THE ARTS - including one event in Music, one event in Architecture, one event in Literature, two events in Sculpting, and three events in Painting!!!
INTO A NEW LIFE by Josef Suk was the Silver (and ONLY) Medal Winner at the Xth Olympiad Los Angeles 1932 for the Music Event.
The Arts Competition Events were discontinued because it became impossible to differentiate an amateur artist from a professional artist - and like the Ancient Games only amateurs where permitted in the Olympics (until the American 'Dream Team' of professional athletes bullied the International Olympic Committee into allowing them to shove their bloated ballsacks into the historically AMATEUR Olympic Games, However, despite this blasphemous incursion of professionals, the Arts Events were not restored.
HOWEVER, to honor the old tradition of the Arts Competitions, EVERY SINGLE Summer Olympics since 1952 features a non-competitive Arts & Cultural Festival - but NONE of the networks with Olympic broadcasting rights even mentions these spectacular Olympic events which produced such wonders as John William's Olympic Theme!! Currently NBC Sports has the broadcasting rights for the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games; if you love The Arts, PLEASE contact NBC AND both the U.S. & the International Olympic Committees and protest their refusal to include the Olympic Arts Festival in the network broadcasts and ask them to include it in all future Games or else restore the original competitive Arts events!!
Meister Pumuckl
Such a great March.. It's often performed and recorded by the czech army bands.
Ria Brezova
Excellent!!! Wonderful performance! Thank you very much for upload and description about this work by Josef Suk!
chogno98
Radio Agricultura of Chile used to begin its daily transmissions with this march. Many Chilean kids would wake up to it.
Oldřich Čepelka
Beautiful music, full of vigor and optimism. The text could not stand today, it was naive but it was combative and optimistic because it was created at the beginning of the independent Czechoslovak Republic. I feel proud because I am Czech and the music speaks to me.
Adam Gul
Very nice song!
Alex N., Pianist
Incredible piece! Too bad the Olympic committee gave this a silver and gave the gold too... oh, wait... they didn't award a gold medal.
Herb Childs
Was composer Suk invited to Los Angeles to accept his prize and see the Games?
If so, he might well have made a stop in Spillville where his famous father-in-law was well remembered.
Not to mention Suk's late wife, Otilka Dvorakova, a composer in her own right, who was there as a teenager.
Dávid Rehák
Josef Suk:Útban egy új élethez Op.35c
Boston Pops Zenekar
Vezényel:John Williams
Dalibor Buksa
Nice folk themes.