Born: 1874, Křečovice, BohemiaDied: 1935, Benešov, Czechoslovakia

“I do not bow to anyone, except to my own conscience and to our noble Lady Music...”

A gifted child born into a musical family, Josef Suk trained at the Prague Conservatory, where he later taught for many years. (Dvořák was one of his teachers and Suk later married his mentor’s daughter Otilie.) A superb orchestrator, Suk wrote in a sensual, late Romantic style that became increasingly complex harmonically. He was also an acclaimed violinist, performing with the Czech Quartet for 40 years.