Classical Music Playlist, June 22, 2026
Czech composer Josef Suk (1874-1935)
The first half of Czech composer Josef Suk's life was happy. He was a favorite student of composer Antonín Dvořák whose daughter, Otilie, Suk married. But the dividing line in Suk's life was the devastating loss of both of them. After Dvořák died in 1904, Suk was writing his funeral symphony "Asrael" when Otilie also died in 1905. Suk wrote that the "Asrael" symphony became a dedication "to the exalted memory of Dvořák and Otilie." Two years after the 1907 premiere of the "Asrael," Suk composed his symphonic poem "A Summer's Tale" which he said was about "finding a soothing balm in nature." It’s today's Midday Masterpiece on this first FULL day of summer.
