THE STORY BEHIND: Suk's "A Fairy Tale"

Title: A Fairy Tale, op.16

Composer: Josef Suk (1874-1935)

Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: This is a RI Philharmonic Orchestra premiere. This piece is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

The Story: Suk’s musical fairy tale is divided into 4 parts. Their titles are self-explanatory:

                          I.         About the Constant Love of Raduz and Mahulena and Their Trials

                     II.         Playing at Swans and Peacocks

                    III.         Funeral Music

                    IV.         Runa's Curse and How It was Broken by True Love

At its essence, one might say the work begins with love, moves to play, then to death, and finally back to the healing power of love. Its original source material is incidental music Suk had composed for a play that weaves classic fairy-tale motifs with mythology in a distinctly Bohemian way. He was so taken with what he wrote for the play that he immediately set out to distill the best of what he had written into an orchestral suite. For better or for worse the original play never gained more than local fame, but the suite continues to capture the hearts of audiences throughout the world. It is that suite that we hear tonight.

Much like the music of his mentor and father-in-law, Antonín Dvořák, Suk’s music tends to revel in the infinite color possibilities of the orchestra. Like other tone poets of his generation, Suk uses these colors to conjure the most vivid of images. And with a yarn about royal lovers from rival kingdoms, and their disastrous run-ins with an evil sorceress, there are plenty of rich images to go around. In the hands of a finely honed orchestra, such as the RI Philharmonic, this fantastical story not only comes to life, but fairly jumps off the stage.

Program Notes by Jamie Allen © 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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