Josef Suk's affinity for chamber music was matched by few of his Czech contemporaries. His first chamber compositions were written in his late teens at the Prague Conservatory, where he was a student in Antonin Dvorak's compositional class. With fellow students Karel Hoffmann, Otto Berger and Oskar Nedbal, Suk founded the Czech Quartet, an ensemble which was to gain considerable fame throughout Europe. Though the group's membership went through numerous changes, Suk maintained his post as second violinist in the quartet for forty years. His performing career was directly instrumental in the formulation of his many important chamber works.

The Op. 23 Elegy was originally scored for solo violin, solo cello, string quartet, harmonium and harp. The version for piano trio is shorter than the original, which was written for a commemorative event in 1902 marking the anniversary of the death of writer Julius Zeyer. It was given the subtitle "Under the Impression of Zeyer's Vysehrad," a reference to the writer's epic poem based on elements of Czech mythology.



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