Detlef Kraus
- January 7, 2008
- 88 years
About Detlef Kraus
Detlef Kraus, 88, German pianist.
Explore other notable deaths in 2008 or deaths in January 2008.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Detlef Kraus?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Advertisement
60 Seconds Life Story
Detlef Kraus was a renowned German pianist who left an indelible mark on the world of classical music.
Detlef Kraus
d. 2008
60 Seconds: Detlef Kraus's Life Story
A brief documentary look at the life and professional career of German pianist and Brahms scholar Detlef Kraus.
Transcript
Detlef Kraus was a renowned German pianist who left an indelible mark on the world of classical music. Born in Hamburg in 1919, he gave his debut concert at sixteen playing Johann Sebastian Bach. His career eventually took him to major international stages in London, Tokyo, and New York. Kraus became globally celebrated for his deep interpretations of the works of Johannes Brahms. He served as the president of the Johannes-Brahms-Gesellschaft and famously initiated the first Brahms competition in Hamburg. Beyond his performances, Kraus taught piano at institutions in Essen and Osnabrück and authored many papers on Brahms. He was honored with the Brahms-Prize twice during his career. Detlef Kraus passed away from heart failure in 2008 at the age of 88.
Play the illustrated life story above, or read the full biography on this page.
Visual credits: Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) · RicardoVallejos / Pixabay (Pixabay Content License) · Flickr (CC BY 2.0) · www.artezmusictools.nl (Public domain) · The Conservatories Photo Library (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0)
An illustrated presentation assembled inside the archive from the approved script and the credited images: narration, scene transitions and captions. Caption timing is estimated from the narration.
Narrated illustration. Images are sourced and credited; they are not presented as authenticated photographs.
Full Biography
|Detlef Kraus (30 November 1919 – 7 January 2008) was a German pianist. He was an internationally known interpreter of the music of Johannes Brahms.
Born in Hamburg, Kraus gave his first concert at the age of 16, playing The Well-Tempered Clavier of Johann Sebastian Bach. His later emphasis was on Brahms, together with conductors like Ferenc Fricsay, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Eugen Jochum, Hans Knappertsbusch, Joseph Keilberth, Kurt Masur, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, performing in New York City, Tokyo, London, and Berlin.
From 1982 he was the president, later the honorary president, of the Johannes-Brahms-Gesellschaft in Hamburg; there he initiated the city's first Brahms competition. He taught piano at the Konservatorium Osnabrück and the Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen. Kraus published numerous papers on Brahms.
Kraus died of heart failure on January 7, 2008, at the age of 88.
Prizes
- Brahms-Prize of the city of Hamburg (1975)
- Brahms-Prize of the Brahms Society of Schleswig-Holstein (1997)
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Detlef Kraus on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detlef_Kraus
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on January 7
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Detlef Kraus →Advertisement