Dorian Recordings
DOR-93261
Works by Suk, Novák and Martinu
The Ames Piano Quartet
When Antonin Dvorák came to the Prague Conservatory in 1891 to teach composition, he was assigned only the school's best pupils. Included in the dozen students admitted to the first class in spring were Oskar Nedbal and Josef Suk, both of whom would come to hold eminent positions in the Czech musical community during the first half of the 20th century. For the fall class, four more students were added, among them Vitezslav Novák, who would likewise assume a commanding place in Czech musical life.
Dvorák was a demanding teacher who would subject his students to unsparing, sometimes caustic, criticism as he went through their compositions bar by bar. At times, Suk was nearly driven to tears by Dvorák's severe appraisals, while Novák bridled at being made to revise and revise again until he finally produced a work that met with his teacher's approval. Some students, finding the strain intolerable, eventually opted out of the class. Suk and Novak, however, stayed with it, both of them grateful for, if also frightened of, the attentions of a master who, they knew, sought only to draw out the best that was theirs to give. For his part, Dvorák looked upon Suk and Novák as his prize pupils. Suk, moreover, would later become Dvorák's son-in-law.
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Notes prepared by Karl E. Gwiasda
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Joseph Suk: Quartet in A Minor, Op.1 1. Allegro appassionato - 6:57 2. Adagio - 7:09 3. Allegro con fuoco 7:10 Vítezslav Novák: Quartet in C Minor, Op.7 4. Andante - 8:12 5. Scherzino: Allegretto comodo - 5:44 6. Rondo: Allegro - 8:07 Bohuslav Martinu: Quartet (1942) 7. Poco allegro - 6:22 8. Adagio - 8:51 9. Allegretto poco moderato - 8:27 |
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