Suk was born in
Kladno,
Bohemia,
Austrian Empire. He is said to have been related to the composer
Joseph Suk. From 1873 to 1879 Suk studied violin at the
Prague Conservatory as a pupil of
Antonín Bennewitz. Concurrently he studied also
counterpoint with
Josef Krejčí, and, privately, composition with
Zdeněk Fibich. In 1880 he went to
Warsaw as a violinist in the Warsaw Philharmonic, but a short while later he was already engaged as a concert master in the Imperial Orchestra of
Kiev (from 1880 to 1882). In 1885 his career as an opera conductor began with the Philharmonic Society in Moscow, where from 1882 he had served as a violinist with the
Bolshoi orchestra, but he proved his abilities as
kapellmeister of the opera in
Kharkiv (1885–1886).
Tchaikovsky recommended him to
Saint Petersburg, but Suk went to
Taganrog instead, where he began to also conduct symphonic works. His later employment with a private opera orchestra in
Vilnius lasted from 1890 to 1894, and this was followed by guest performances or shorter engagements in many of the larger places in Russia, e.g. in Kharkiv, Moscow, Saint Petersburg,
Kazan, and
Saratov. He conducted there for more than 25 years, until 1932, Suk, who had a reputation of being an authentic interpreter of Tchaikovsky's music and of
Rimsky-Korsakov's operas, some of which he premiered, was awarded many more honours during his Russian career. He died, aged 71, in Moscow, and the "orchestral foyer" in the
Great Theatre was posthumously named after him. == Selected works ==