Date and time:
Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 7 p.m.
Venue:
Imperial Hall of the Regional Museum in Ústí nad Labem
Masarykova 1000/3, Ústí nad Labem
Program
- Ullmann: String Quartet No. 3
- Mozart: Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major, K. 581
- Zemlinsky: String Quartet No. 4
Performers
- Anna Paulová (Czech Republic) – clarinet
- Fama Q (Czech Republic) – string quartet
According to the new concept for the Ullmann Festival, other Czech and European cities where Ullmann lived and worked will be gradually added to its current main venue, Prague. This year, we have included Ústí nad Labem in the program, where Viktor Ullmann – after ending his engagement at the New German Theatre – worked very successfully as the head of the opera at the local Municipal Theatre during the 1927-28 season. Ústí nad Labem is also the only Czech city that publicly commemorates this artist, with two sculptural monuments. In this sense, this year’s concert is not only a tribute to the artist but also a thank-you to the institutions in Ústí nad Labem for their interest in him.
The program, prepared once again by the FAMA Q string quartet, which invited the young clarinettist Anna Paulová to collaborate, will first feature Ullmann’s String Quartet No. 3, his only surviving work. Mozart’s Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet will recall Ullmann’s lifelong interest in and admiration for this musical genius, which he had cultivated since his early years. Finally, Alexander Zemlinsky’s String Quartet No. 4, filled with tragedy and comforting catharsis, will be a reminiscence of Ullmann’s artistic guru.
The concert will be preceded at 4 p.m. by a lecture by historian Dr. Vlasta Reittererová on V. Ullmann’s work in Ústí nad Labem – see Accompanying Program.
About performers
Anna Paulová – clarinet
She is one of the most prominent Czech clarinetists of the younger generation. In 2015, she won second prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition, where she also received special awards from the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation and the Gideon Klein Foundation. Among her most recent achievements is the Jiří Bělohlávek Award, which she won in 2024. She also won first prize at the Rising Stars Grand Prix competition in Berlin. She performs as a soloist with a number of prestigious domestic and foreign orchestras and conductors. She also enjoys chamber music and her partners include leading Czech and foreign pianists, guitarists, and chamber ensembles.
Fama Q – string quartet
is currently one of the best Czech quartet ensembles. Its players are members of leading Czech orchestras and are united by their enthusiasm for chamber and quartet music. The quartet regularly performs compositions by contemporary composers, including modern classics of the 20th century and Czech and European composers. The ensemble also often performs world premieres of compositions by young Czech and foreign composers. However, the ensemble does not neglect the traditional quartet repertoire. At the last festival, it gave an outstanding concert of demanding quartet repertoire from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
