Born on 3rd December 1929 in Stockholm, died on 23 Mars 1989. He studied composition privately with Karl-Birger Blomdahl between 1951 and 1954. At an early stage he came into contact with the concert organization Fylkingen, which performed several of his compositions. He also visited the vacation courses for new music in Darmstadt, West Germany. Ullman is an Assistant Professor in Gävle and gained his doctorate with a thesis on the history of German literature (Georg Buchner).
By Swedish standards, Ullman was an unusually early starter with the technical methods developed in the footsteps of Arnold Schönberg (technically speaking this meant 12 tone techniques and other serial methods, while musically Ullman aimed for asymmetry and other ways of avoiding easily predictable developments). His first period’s output was dominated by chamber music, e.g. his quintet for strings and woodwind, Racconto II for clarinet, cello, piano and percussion. After an intermission Ullman returned to composing in the 1970s, e.g. with Racconto III, the orchestral piece Un giorno della vita and the ensemble composition L’assenza nuova.
His output is distinguished by its continuity, an abiding interest in flexible, irregular musical beat, and a versatile approach to melody.
Hans-Gunnar Peterson