Sutivan

Program

Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini (1743–1805)
Guitar Quintet No. 5 in D major, G.449

I. Andantino pausato
II. Minuetto. Allegro
III. Allegro giusto
IV. Andantino

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
Natan Zlodre, guitar

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.

Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini (1743–1805)

Luigi Boccherini was a distinguished Italian composer and virtuoso cellist whose
work played a pivotal role in shaping the string quartet and chamber music traditions
of the Classical era. Born in Lucca in 1743, he was the third child of Leopoldo
Boccherini, a double bass player. In 1756, Boccherini was sent to Rome to study with the renowned cellist Giovanni Battista Costanzi, musical director at Saint Peter’s Basilica. There, he absorbed the polyphonic traditions of Palestrina and the instrumental elegance of Corelli. At just 17, he made his compositional debut in Vienna with his Six Trios for Two Violins and Cello, G 77–82.
His time in Lombardy in 1765, performing in the orchestra of Giovanni Battista
Sammartini, marked a turning point in his style. Boccherini helped pioneer a more
conversational approach to quartet writing, elevating the cello from a supporting role
to an equal voice alongside the violin and viola. He organized remarkable public
quartet performance with fellow Tuscan virtuosi Pietro Nardini, Filippo Manfredi, and
GiuseppeCambini.
In 1769, Boccherini moved to Madrid at the invitation of the Spanish ambassador,
beginning a long and fruitful association with the court of Charles III. There, he
composed his celebrated Six String Quartets, G 177–182, and began writing the
string quintets for which he is best known. He also enjoyed the patronage of
Frederick William II of Prussia, himself an amateur cellist.
Boccherini’s legacy includes over 500 compositions—ranging from sacred music and
symphonies to concertos and chamber works—cementing his place as one of the
most prolific and influential composers of his time.