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Program

Walter Rabl (1873–1940)
Fantasiestucke for Piano Trio, Op.2
I. Adagio molto
II. Allegro vivace
III. Allegro con spirito
IV. Adagio con espressione
V. Allegro con impeto
VI. Allegretto grazioso
VII. Largo
VIII. Allegro vivace con brio

Joaquín Turina (1882–1949)
Piano trio No. 2 Op. 76
I. Lento / Allegro molto moderato
II.Molto vivace
III. Lento / Andante mosso / Allegro vivo

Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944)
String Quartet Nr.3, Op.46
I. Allegro moderato – Presto
II. Largo
III. Rondo – Finale

Hannah Kandinsky, violin
Pia Onuska, violin
Ignazio Alayza, viola
Benedikt Hellsberg, cello
Ana Šincek, cello
Elizaveta Tomanova, piano

Walter Rabl (1873–1940)
Born in Vienna in 1873, Walter Rabl received his early education at Institut Le Rosey
in Switzerland before studying music theory and composition in Salzburg under J. F.
Hummel, director of the Mozarteum. He later returned to Vienna to study with Karl
Navratil and earned a doctorate in musicology under Guido Adler at the German
University in Prague, completing it at just 25. Rabl’s compositional talent was recognized early when his Quartet in E-flat Major for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op. 1, won first prize in 1896 from the Vienna Tonkünstlerverein, with Johannes Brahms—then honorary president—serving as judge. This work is considered the first composition for that specific ensemble, a format later famously adopted by Olivier Messiaen. Brahms personally recommended Rabl’s music to the publisher Simrock, who went on to publish his Fantasy Pieces for Piano Trio, Op. 2, and two sets of Four Songs (Op. 3 and Op. 4). While his early works reflect the influence of Brahms and Schumann, his only opera, Liane (1903), reveals a more Wagnerian style. Despite its success, it marked the end of his compositional career.
At the age of 30, Rabl shifted his focus to conducting and vocal coaching. He served as coach and chorus master at the Royal Opera of Dresden and conducted widely across Germany, championing contemporary composers such as Mahler, Goldmark,
Schreker, Korngold, and Richard Strauss. In 1905, he married soprano Hermine von
Kriesten, conducting her in major Wagnerian roles including Brünnhilde and Elektra.
After retiring from conducting in 1924, Rabl remained active as a pianist and vocal coach, working with many prominent singers until his death on July 11, 1940.

Joaquín Turina (1882–1949)
Born in Seville on December 9, 1882, Joaquín Turina was one of the leading Spanish composers of the early 20th century, a central figure of Spain’s Edad de Plata (Silver Age), alongside Manuel de Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo.

Turina came from artistic family, his father was a well-known costumbrista painter,
and his mother sang in a local choir. A child prodigy, he began playing the accordion
at age four and gave his first public performance in 1897, performing Thalberg’s
Fantasy on Rossini’s Moses. He studied piano with Enrique Rodríguez and harmony
and counterpoint with Evaristo García Torres, chapel master at Seville Cathedral.
Initially drawn to medicine, Turina ultimately chose music, moving to Madrid in 1902
to study with José Tragó. His early exposure to orchestral music, particularly the
works of Tchaikovsky, deeply influenced his compositional voice. His first orchestral
work, Coplas al Señor de la Pasión, premiered in Seville’s Church of El Salvador.
Throughout his career, Turina remained committed to elevating Spanish music on
the international stage. He also contributed as a musicologist and educator, leaving
a lasting legacy in Spanish musical history. He died in Madrid on January 14, 1949.

Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944)
Viktor Ullmann was a composer, conductor, and critic whose life and music reflect the intellectual richness and tragic upheavals of early 20th-century Europe. Born on January 1, 1898, in Teschen (now Cieszyn, Poland), he was of Jewish descent and baptized Catholic shortly after birth. His father was an officer in the Austrian Imperial Army, and the family moved to Vienna in 1909, where Ullmann received a classical education and studied music theory with Dr. Josef Polnauer.

After serving in World War I, Ullmann initially pursued law but soon turned to music, studying under Arnold Schoenberg and later working with Alexander Zemlinsky. In 1920, he became a répétiteur at the German Theatre in Prague, where he assisted in rare opera productions, including Zemlinsky’s DerOpernball. He later served as music director in Ústí nad Labem and staged works by Richard Strauss and Ernst Krenek. A scholar of Greek and Latin, Ullmann was also deeply influenced by the writings of Rudolf Steiner. He briefly ran a bookshop in Stuttgart before returning to Prague due to financial hardship and the rise of Nazism. His first opera, Der Sturz des Antichrist (1935), reflects Steiner’s philosophy. He also studied microtonal composition with Alois Hába and worked as a music critic, leaving behind a body of philosophical writings and reviews. Before World War II, Ullmann composed around forty works, including three operas, two string quartets, and orchestral pieces. His Five Variations and Double Fugue on a Theme of Arnold Schoenberg won the Emil Hertzka Prize in 1936. Some of his works, including an opera based on Peer Gynt and the SymfoniaFantasyczna, were lost during the war. Ullmann’s relationship with the anthroposophical movement deteriorated, and he rejoined the Catholic Church in 1940. Between 1937 and 1942, he suffered from depression and was hospitalized. He endured profound personal loss, including the deaths of his parents and the separation from two of his children, who were sent to the UK via Kindertransport.

On September 8, 1942, Ullmann was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where he became a central figure in its cultural life. Collaborating with Hans Krása, he organized concerts and composed prolifically. His works from this period include three piano sonatas, a string quartet, song cycles, the symphonic poem Don Quixote Dances a Fandango, and his masterpiece Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, premiered in July 1944. His final composition, the Seventh Piano Sonata, completed on August 22, 1944, is dedicated to three of his children and includes autobiographical musical quotations from composers such as Mahler and Richard von Heuberger. Ullmann was
murdered in Auschwitz on October 18, 1944. His youngest child, Pavel, died in Theresienstadt, and his son Max perished in Auschwitz.