Throughout his life, Josef Suk pursued two musical careers: as a violinist he was, from the time of his studies at the Prague Conservatory, a founding member of the Bohemian, then Czech String Quartet, which existed from 1892 to 1933. In 1892 his second career as a composer began when the 18-year old Josef Suk attracted public attention with his Serenade for String Orchestra Opus 6. This work links him artistically and personally with one of the fathers of Czech national music Antonin Dvořák, in whose composition class he studied and whose daughter he met during a summer vacation with his teacher and soon afterward married. Suk´s special music-historical accomplishment lies in the opening up of the national musical language of the late Czech romantic era toward pan-European modern music.