After his death Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) has, like many others, fallen under the historical shadow of Mozart. An almost exact contemporary, Kraus was hailed by nobody less than Joseph Haydn as Mozart’s equal in terms of creativity and genius.

Trained as a violinist Kraus was nonetheless an excellent pianist. This new recording presents his complete output for the instrument, consisting of several shorter character pieces and two substantial piano sonatas, representing a variety and originality that is one of Kraus’s musical trademarks. The two sonatas, especially, are at the technical limits of the instrument, requiring both dexterity and interpretive ability, often foreshadowing piano music thirty years later (Beethoven!) in content and scope.

Costantino Mastroprimiano studied piano and chamber music with Michele Marvulli, Guido Agosti and Riccardo Brengola, and then moved his focus to the study of the fortepiano. On this recording he plays an 1775 Stein pianoforte.