Kraus, the Struggling Musician

Donald Macleod follows Kraus as he labours to realise his musical dreams in a foreign city, far from home.

In a first for Composer of the Week, Donald Macleod surveys the life and music of Joseph Martin Kraus. Kraus has been called the Swedish Mozart; he was born in the same year as Mozart, in 1756, and survived him by just 12 months. Originally from Germany, Kraus found work as a composer based at the Swedish royal court and quickly came to be regarded as one of the leading music directors in all Europe. Haydn said that he knew of only two geniuses, Mozart and Joseph Martin Kraus.

Kraus had high hopes for his prospects after graduating in law from university and then heading to Sweden to seek fame and fortune as a musician. It was tough going, though, and Kraus would have to endure several long years of hardship before his perseverance paid off. When his breakthrough finally came, it wasn’t long before he was rubbing shoulders with the greatest musical luminaries of the age, like Salieri, Gluck, Albrechtsberger, Vanhal and Haydn. On a visit to Vienna, Kraus was inducted into the same Masonic lodge as Mozart, who lived near to where Kraus was staying.

Proserpin, VB 19 (Overture)
Helsinki Baroque Orchestra
Aapo Häkkinen, conductor

Azire, VB 18 (excerpt)
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Uwe Grodd, conductor

Sinfonie in C minor
Concerto Köln
Werner Ehrhardt, conductor

Flute Quintet (Largo & Allegro con brio)
Aurèle Nicolet, flute
Athenaeum Enesco String Quartet

Produced by Luke Whitlock, for BBC Wales