Sinfonia in C

Though Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) became the most influential Swedish musician of the 18th century, he was born and educated in Germany and lived only eight years in Stockholm before his early death at the age of 36. Yet in that brief period he had taught composers and created the Swedish school of opera. Kraus had a lifelong fascination with drama and unsurprisingly his symphonies are full of unexpected twists and turns and contain many forward-looking stylistic devices that anticipate music of the next century. There are several unusual characteristics of this three-movement Italianate symphony. It begins with a slow introduction in the parallel minor, complete with suspensive figures that are highly dramatic. The orchestration, with separate cello and contrabass parts, is strikingly modern for the age. The slow movement has a harmonically ambiguous opening, with the principal key, G major, not being reached until the tenth bar. It is also unusual structurally, being a short rondo form with highly chromatic episodes. The mancando in the final episode underscores the dramatic tension of the work. The vivacious finale is characteristic of a stylized hunt.