Sweden's master classicist

June 2, 4:19 PMSF Classical Music ExaminerScott Foglesong

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This is the third in a continuing series of articles about the "little masters" (kleinmeisters) of the later 18th century. The previous two installments:

• The little masters: introduces the concept as well as Vanhal and Salieri.
• Big little master Johann Stamitz: about the influential Mannheim master.

 Haydn, Albrechtsberger and others refer to him as one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived, and they cite certain pieces...as classical works which cannot be excelled.

Frederik Samuel Silverstolpe, Dec. 27, 1797

Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792), Mozart's exact contemporary, died only a year later than his celebrated colleague, yet another sacrificial lamb to the spread of infectious disease in the burgeoning cities of Enlightenment Europe; in his case, tuberculosis did the dastardly deed. Had his life progressed onwards to middle, and then old age, undoubtedly his name would be better known. As it is, significant chunks of his work have vanished into the black hole of historical indifference, with what remains of his music heard rarely, if at all. That's a pity.

Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)

One must stand guard against the temptation to hail every short-lived, posthumously-ignored composer as a forgotten genius. To take one example: Francesca Lebrun, exact contemporary of both Mozart and Kraus and dead right about the same time as both (1791), has occasionally been acclaimed as a potential female Mozart. Based on the surviving (not much) music that I've heard, such claims impress me as wishful thinking.

But Kraus presents a legitimate case for a composer who deserves more recognition. Of his many symphonies, only some fourteen have survived -- but those represent some of the best work of the era, by any composer. Very much products of the Sturm und Drang movement of the mid-classical, Kraus's symphonies offer an unusually high percentage of minor keys (four are in minor, including one in the extremely rare key of C-sharp minor), and many lean towards the intensely dramatic and serious.

Clearly Haydn provided him with a powerful model; Haydn returned the compliment by heaping praise on his younger colleague, writing to Marianne Ehrenström: "J'y reconnais Kraus. Quelle profondeur de pensées--quel talent classique." (I have gotten to know Kraus. What profunity of ideas--what a classic talent.) Such kudos were likely in response to Kraus's superb Symphony in C Minor (VB 140), performed at Eszterháza during Kraus's visit in 1783.

For his part, Kraus was undoubtedly thrilled to meet his hero, but at the same time was dismayed to find the almighty Haydn topped a bit from his pedestal:

In Haydn I got to know a right good soul, except for one point--that's money...It's a curious thing with most artists. The closer one examines them, the more they lose the halo with which the Messrs. Amateurs and critics invest them."

From an entry of October 18, 1783 in Kraus's travel diary

Kraus spent the bulk of his short career in the service of Gustav III of Sweden; as such, he can be considered a Swedish composer although by birth and education he was German. Certainly he was Sweden's outstanding composer of an era noted for its musical richness, a significant distinction indeed. His output includes lieder, ballet and incidental music, keyboard music, chamber music, concertos, choral music (mostly secular with a smattering of sacred), symphonies, and a soupçon of organ pieces.

It's far easier to get to know the music of Joseph Martin Kraus than you might expect, thanks to those intrepid folks at Naxos who have been so industriously filling in the many gaps in the repertory. In fact, Kraus is definitely an up-and-coming composer in the catalogs, with a surprising amount of stuff available.

The surviving symphonies may be heard via four volumes, all from the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Petter Sundkvist:

• Volume 1: Symphonies in E-flat VB 144), C Major (VB 139), C Minor (VB 142), and the overture to Olympie (VB 29).
• Volume 2: Symphonies in C Major (VB 138), F major (VB 130), A Major (VB 128) and the "Sinfonia buffa" (VB 129)
• Volume 3: Symphonies in C-sharp Minor (VB 140), C Minor (VB 148), E Minor (VB 141) and the Overture in D Minor (VB 147)
• Volume 4: Symphonies in F (VB 145), D Major (VB 143), the "Sinfonia per la Chiesa" in D Major (VB 146), an alternate movement of VB 144, and the Riksdagsmarsch, VB 154.

Kraus's C Major violin concerto is on a separate album, together with the incidental music to Olympie and the ballet music to Azire, from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Uwe Grodd.

More ballet music -- several Pantomimes and "The Fishermen" VB 40 comes again from Sundkvist and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

The surviving keyboard music may be heard from either Jacques Despres on Naxos, or from Richard Brautigam on BIS.

Naxos provides a 2-CD set of the complete chamber music for piano and strings, as well as a fine album of Kraus's many German lieder.

If you prefer good ol' printed music, then the New Zealand firm of Artaria is your best bet.