Josef Suk – Sheet Music & Scores

Josef Suk (1874-1935), along with Vítězslav Novák, is one of the most famous modern Czech composers. While Novák was more taken with impressionism, Suk bridged the gap between late romantic and classical modernism as one of the greatest lyric poets in Czech music. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore all his wonderful music today.

His Relationship with Antonín Dvořák

From 1885 to 1892, Josef Suk studied violin at the Prague Conservatoire, and later in a masterclass for composition with Antonín Dvořák. For Suk, Dvořák was more than just a teacher, he was also his lifelong friend and mentor. In 1898 Suk married Dvořák’s daughter Otylka. Unfortunately, the family’s happiness did not last long, Dvořák died in 1904 and, tragically, his beloved Otylka one year later in 1905. These sad events had a fundamental influence on the second half of Suk’s work. The composer expressed his grief and loss in his symphony of mourning Asrael.

The Czech Quartet

With three fellow students from the conservatoire, Josef Suk founded the chamber ensemble “The Czech Quartet”, which went down in music history as one of the most successful of its time. As second violinist, he performed in over 4,000 concerts all over the world. The quartet became world-class, and contributed a great deal to the standard of chamber music performance for generations to come.

The Professor

From 1922, Suk was professor of the masterclass for composition at the Prague Conservatoire and later became director. His students included many important Czech composers, such as Jaroslav Ježek, Pavel Bořkovec and Bohuslav Martinů.

His Works

Although Suk’s work is not very extensive, with only 37 opuses, it is very unique. It combines the personal qualities of Josef Suk, human warmth, sensitivity and care, with Dvořák’s neo-romantic musical tradition, and his own melodic lyrics. His symphonic, piano, choral and chamber music works are held in particularly high esteem.

A few more links for Josef Suk

• Orchestral Works by J. Suk
• String Quartets by J. Suk
• Piano Pieces by J. Suk
• Choral Music by J. Suk
• Sheet Music Downloads by J. Suk
• Books about J. Suk