Discovering Josef Suk (The new Dvorak?)

Josef Suk

My favorite European composer of all time is Antonín Dvořák. A native of the Czech Republic who would eventually change the world of romantic music. Most famous for his 9th symphony titled "From the New World" and his String Quartet in F major Op. 12 "American", he established a sound like no other. His rich melodies, complex harmonies, and incredible instrumentation make it extremely difficult to get bored with.

Even though Symphony No. 9 is his most popular, it's not my favorite symphony of his, believe it or not. When I think of my favorite Dvořák symphony, I get torn between No. 7 and No. 8. Both of them have such unique qualities and messages behind them. If we want to get really specific, my favorite is the last movement of No. 7 - Finale: Allegro, and the first of No. 8 - Allegro ma non troppo. I feel especially close to No. 7, as that was my first Dvorak symphony that I saw live, it was at the Marian Anderson Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The part that had the biggest impact on me was the very end of the piece, the last 4 measures of the last movement, where he decides to move into major after being in a minor key for the whole movement.

Brass section, Measures 424 - 434 of Symphony No. 7- movement IV

This sudden shift to major tonality after spending almost 10 minutes moving all around with a sense of urgency, unknown, and angst, adds such a profound effect for the listener. I remember sitting there, as the brass section filled the entire hall with no room to spare, chills everywhere, that is why I love Dvorak. Now that I have word vomited about Dvorak, let's get into the real reason for this post, Josef Suk. While browsing IMSLP and Spotify with a mission to find a string serenade that I could conduct with my university's chamber ensemble, I came across Suk's Serenade for Strings Op. 6 in Eb Major (1892). As soon as it started playing, I had a very similar experience to when I hear a Dvorak piece. I sat there with my headphones on in awe of the playful opening as the melody gets passed from the violins to the cellos and back to the violins at rehearsal B. Something about this piece just resonated with me so much. After having an epiphany about this piece, I wanted to learn more about the composer, as I have never heard of him. After doing some research about Suk, I found that he was a student at the Prague Conservatory, where he graduated with his thesis, which was his Piano Quartet. Following graduation, he decided to stay and study with the new composition professor, who was Antonín Dvořák. When I found this out, it made everything make sense. Why else did I feel so connected to it? Although it is not Dvorak, I can really hear some Dvorak influences in the first movement of this wonderful piece. When Suk was a student at the conservatory, Dvořák noticed a strain of melancholy in most of his music, and he then suggested that he write something more cheerful and lighter, which then came his Serenade for Strings.

It is quite interesting how different composers from the same country compose so differently; both Suk and Dvorak really have their own sound and style despite studying under Dvorak. Czech music is often energetic, expressing happiness, and it often has a hopeful outlook on life. Dvořák uses Czech nationalism and ideas/motifs in his music, which makes it so engaging, at least for me. Whereas Suk developed his own style, he often steers away from having Czech influences in his music. Discovering Josef Suk has been like a breath of fresh air these last few days; it's something different, yet it still reminds me of my favorite kind of music. To make my newfound love for Josef Suk even deeper, upon reading more about him, I found out that he later married Dvorak's daughter, the music world is incredibly small (that is for another blog post, I can talk about that for days). To finish this little blog post, I will leave you with the homework assignment of listening to Suk's Serenade for String Op. 6 in Eb Major. After that, listen to a serenade for strings by Dvořák and compare the two of them. How are they similar? What kind of ideas do they share? How are they different?