Lesser-Known Composer of the Month: Joseph Martin Kraus

Wait, Who?

Though he was German by birth, Kraus spent most of his brief career in Sweden.   He is often referred to as the "Swedish Mozart," in large part due to the similarity of their birth and death dates.  There is no concrete evidence the two ever met, although they belonged to the same masonic lodge in Vienna and Kraus reportedly developed a strong admiration for Mozart's music toward the end of his life.

After an early education in Mannheim, Kraus later studied philosophy and law at the universities of Mainz, Erfurt, and Göttingen.  A fellow student from Sweden persuaded him to come to Stockholm, which was not among the more fashionable capitals of Europe, to seek his fortune with the royal court.

Kraus initially found little success in Sweden and struggled for several years, during which he produced an unsuccessful opera, although he appears to have picked up the Swedish language very quickly.  However, in 1781 he was elected to the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, and then appointed assistant  Kapellmeister at the court of Gustavus III.  Shortly after, the king sent him on a four-year trip through Europe, during which he met Haydn, to study trends in the theater.  He recorded his observations in a travel diary.

Kraus was also a poet and a commentator on musical style; some of his music criticism was published and he was a frequent participant in public discussions about opera and drama.

Kraus wrote approximately twenty symphonies (although the exact number is difficult to assess as several have been lost and some have conflicting attributions) and a similar number of surviving chamber pieces, of which about half are string quartets and the remainder are for various other combinations of instruments.  Other instrumental works include several concertos and sinfonies concertantes, of which only a violin concerto survives, a handful of piano and organ pieces.

His attempts at opera were often frustrated.  His first,Azire, was never performed, Proserpin was never really intended for public performance, and Aeneas i Cartago, originally slated for 1782, was not performed until 1799, seven years after Kraus's death.  Other operatic plans remained incomplete.  His other stange works, particularly ballet and incidental music, found more success.

The relatively small amount of sacred music he wrote is mostly from early in his career, with a notable standout being the oratorio Der Tod Jesus.  Other vocal works include a substantial number of concert arias and duets, secular cantatas, and about 60 songs in various languages, including Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Swedish.