J. Suk – Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 12 (Štěpán)

0:00 – 1. Andante
5:03 – 2. Allegro moderato
8:40 – 3. Adagio, ma non troppo
12:13 – 4. Allegro, ma non troppo
14:58 – 5. Andante con moto
18:11 – 6. Allegro vivace (named Honba za motýlem in the manuscript)
22:05 – 7. Allegretto
25:13 – 8. Andante

In 1896, around the time of composing these pieces, Suk's future wife Otilie started to show interest in the composer. Although it is known that she adored the Legend from the earlier op. 10, Eight Pieces is Suk's first work dedicated to her (and only one if one excludes the post-mortem dedication in the Asrael symphony). The middle section of the first piece is also a direct quotation of the Czech national folk song Loučení, loučení, which resembles temporary separation of the two in 1895. The set does not consistently work as a programmatic love letter to her, but it is nonetheless a secure departure from the salonesque expression of his earlier piano opuses and aims for more mature introspection – his next opused work, Radúz and Mahulena op. 13, would after all be the first major turning point in his compositional language. (Oldřich Filipovský's book was partly used as a source)

Composer – Josef Suk (1874–1935)
Piano – Pavel Štěpán
Year of recording – 1975

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