The Josef Suk Memorial in Křečovice is located in a village not far from Benešov called Křečovice, where his father – the head teacher and church choir director Josef Suk – worked his whole life.
Josef Suk senior had the building erected for his son in 1895, as witnessed by an original wooden plaque inscribed: ‘Josef Suk erected this house for his son with the help of God, 16 Aug. MDCCCXCV.’ Here the composer wrote or completed the bulk of his compositions. The Bohemian Quartet, of which he was a founding member, used this magical place for rehearsals of their concert repertoire. After the composer’s death his son Josef Suk, Ing. transformed the little house into the Suk Memorial.
The exposition, based partly on original furnishings, documents Suk’s life and work and the activities of the Bohemian Quartet. Especially remarkable are a collection of small tokens of recognition and souvenirs from concert tours, and a portion of Suk’s collection of decorative glassware and ceramics.
Important dates from the memorial’s history: 1951 Josef Suk, Ing. bequeaths the Memorial to the state; the National Cultural Commission entrusts management of the complex to the Antonín Dvořák Society. 1956 The Josef Suk Memorial becomes a branch of the Antonín Dvořák Museum in Prague; the house is then renovated and a new exposition installed. 1974 The Memorial is ceremonially reopened for the hundredth anniversary of Suk’s birth.
