Suk: Six Piano Pieces Op.7

Introduction

The Six Piano Pieces, Op. 7, of Czech composer Josef Suk were written in the summers of 1891, 1892, and 1893. Quintessentially youthful works in the best sense of the word, the 6 Pieces are, like Suk's Serenade for Strings, delightful, charming, sometimes sentimental, and often very passionate. Consisting of "Love Song," "Humoresque," "Memories," "Little Idylls," "Dumka," and "Capriccetto," the 6 Pieces are romantic character pieces in the same mold as Schumann's or Brahms'. But Suk's 6 Pieces are more overtly emotional than Schumann's and more obviously personal than Brahms'. Indeed, they are a virtual lover's diary of the courtship of Suk and his beloved Otilka, Dvorák's daughter: "Little Idylls" depicts two lovers caught in the rain, while "Dumka" is a lovers' quarrel and their reconciliation. The best-known of the set is the "Love Song," Suk's declaration of his love and its rapturous reception. Not only does the "Love Song" exist in many different transcriptions and arrangements, its theme often re-appeared in Suk's later work.