Lili Kraus (1903-86) led a full and active life. Born into poverty in Hungary she studied in Budapest with Kodály and Bartók and then in Vienna and Berlin with Steuermann and Schnabel.

During the 1930s she toured widely and recorded with the legendary violinist Szymon Goldberg, later taking up British citizenship. However she unwisely chose to continue playing overseas after the outbreak of war and whilst playing in Indonesia in 1942 she was interned by the Japanese.

Based in Paris and Vienna during the 1950s Kraus recorded prolifically for several labels, most notably works by Mozart, Bach, Schubert and Beethoven with Willi Boskovsky, Jean-Pierre Rampal and others.

Her piano playing was often described as exuberant and vivacious; these qualities were passed on to her many pupils in the USA where she taught from 1967.