Autographed
presentation style photograph of the great Czech violinist signing a photograph
of himself to Supraphon executive Antonin Vilimovi, May, 1975. The original 5” x 7” image is affixed to a
6.5” x 10” mount.
A portion of
our Czech collection was compiled by Vilimovi who had unparalleled access to
composers and musicians in Czechoslovakia of the time. Many of the photographs, as this one were
added to a book of similar presentation style photographs by the
executive. They are unique and you will
not find them anywhere else.
Suk
(1929-2011) was musical royalty in Czechoslovakia. He was the grandson of
the composer-violinist Josef Suk of the Bohemian Quartet fame and
great-grandson of composer Antonin Dvorak. He had much to live up to and
was clearly became the most important post-War Czech virtuoso violinist.
The government was so proud of his accomplishments that he was one of the few
Czech musicians who was allowed regular international travel whilst the
Communists were in power.
The senior
Josef Suk arranged for his young grandson to study with legendary violinist
Jaroslav Kocian who at the time was running the masters program at the Prague
Conservatory. He remained with Kocian until his death in 1950, graduating from
the Conservatory in 1951. Whilst at the Conservatory he studied with a number
of important Professors there including violinist Norbert Kubat Jr. and
composer Karel Snebergr. He then studied at the Prague Academy of Music with
the Czech Philharmonic Concertmaster Alexander Plocek and violinist Marie
Hlounova. Suk's public debut was in 1940. When Alexander Plocek left the
Prague Quartet as first violinist in 1951, Suk took over his position for a
year. He left the Quartet in 1952 to found the Suk Trio with pianist Jan
Panenka and cellist Josef Chuchro which became one of the premier chamber
ensembles in Prague and abroad. In November 1954, Suk gave his first
major solo recital. Heard by George Szell who was in Prague for concerts
at the time, he was hired on the spot to come to the United States for his
American debut in concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra. He made his
first major European tour in 1958 in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands
and Romania. This cemented his reputation as an international virtuosos
violinist to be reckoned with. When Vasa Prihoda passed away in 1960, he
was lent his Stradivarius by the Czech government to whom it had been
left. His regular pianist a this time was Zuzana Ruzickova, a Holocaust
survivor in Auschwitz who after the War became a specialist in early music who
is perhaps better known for her harpsichord recordings. In 1963 he formed
a new trio with the American pianist Julius Katchen and Hungarian-American
cellist Janos Starker which lasted until Katchen's early death in 1969. In 1961
he became a regular guest soloist with the Czech Philharmonic both in
Czechoslovakia and on tour. Which led to his guest soloist gig on their
1964 three Continent tour. Suk toured extensively on his own throughout
the World and left a large catalog of recordings of solo, chamber and works
with violin and orchestra.
Perfect for
display!
Appraisers and Music Antiquarian
New York, New York