Full Description
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) led an illustrious, if brief, career as an acclaimed composer in the age of Haydn and Mozart. At 26 he embarked on a four-year European grand tour that secured his reputation as musician and composer. Like Mozart, Kraus was a prolific correspondent. His letters to his family give an unusually intimate picture of the private man, showing a slice of domestic life in the 18th century among the emerging middle class. These letters include one of the few descriptions of the great Handel Centenary Festival from an outsider, critiques of the operas performed in Paris by Piccinni, the first mention in history of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, and descriptions of the art and archeology of Pompeii. These documents are as crucial to understanding Kraus's life and works as they are revelatory of a composer's milieu in the 18th century.
Contents
Preface
Part I: Joseph Martin Kraus as a Correspondent
Introduction
Part II: The Letters
Appendix A. The Last Will and Testament of Joseph Martin Kraus
Appendix B. Letters from Kraus's family to Fredrik Silverstolpe
Appendix C. Letters from Kraus's teachers to Fredrik Silverstolpe, 1800-1802
Appendix D. Letters from Pater Romanus Hoffstetter to Fredrik Silverstolpe, 1800-1802
Bibliography
Index
