Antonín Kraft (30 December 1749,^[1] Rokycany – 28 August 1820,^[2] Vienna) was aCzechcellist andcomposer. He was a close friend ofHaydn,Mozart, andBeethoven. He worked in the Holy Roman Empire and later in the Austrian Empire.

Kraft was born in theBohemian town ofRokycany of a German Bohemian ethnic family which had assimilated into Czech. He received early musical education on the cello from his father before going to university inVienna to study law. He soon obtained a position in theImperial Hofkapelle. In 1778 he was appointed cellist in PrinceNikolaus Esterházy's orchestra, where he met and studied composition with Haydn. In 1789, he metMozart in Dresden and took part in the premiere of hisdivertimento for string trio in E-Flat. Mozart played the viola part andAnton Teyber played the violin part. After Esterházy died in 1790, his successor, PrinceAnton Esterházy, dismissed most of the court orchestra. Kraft went to Vienna and became a founding member of theSchuppanzigh Quartet, where he helped establish the traditions ofstring quartet playing. He played in theGrassalkovich court and from 1796 was employed in the orchestra of PrinceJoseph Franz von Lobkowitz. He died on 28 August 1820 in Vienna.

Kraft was considered one of the greatest cellists of his time and bothHaydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in D, the cello part inMozart’sdivertimento for string trio in E-Flat and the cello part inBeethoven's Triple Concerto were written for him, though his sonNikolaus Kraft is also claimed to have played the premiere of the latter.

As a composer, he wrote cellosonatas (six for cello with bass published asOp. 1 and 2) and a cello concerto (Op. 4). He also wrote various duos: forviolin and cello (Op. 3), for cello anddouble bass and for two cellos (Op. 5 and 6).

• Op.1: 3 Cello Sonatas in C, G, D
• Op.2: 3 Cello Sonatas in B♭, G, C
• Op.3: 3 Grand Duos for Violin and Cello
• Op.4: Cello Concerto in C major
• Op.5: Cello Duo in G minor
• Op.6: Cello Duo in D major
• Op.7: Cello Duet on the theme from Mozart's Opera The Magic Flute ('Duettino Tamina and Papageno')
• Duets for Cello and Guitar
• Cello Concerto in C major "Seydel's Concerto"

• Free scores by Antonín Kraft at theInternational Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Werke von und über Antonín Kraft in theGerman National Library catalogue

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