He was the son of Andreas Adolph Freiherr von Krufft and his wife Maria Anna. He was educated at home, in training for government service. His mother was an excellent pianist, and a connoisseur and friend of classical music, and was his first music teacher. His sister Justina was a talented poet and musician; his sister Catton was a poet also; his younger brother, Joseph, was a judge. From 1794 to 1800, Nikolaus studied philosophy and law at the University of Vienna. In 1801, he took employment at the Geheime Hof- und Staatskanzlei . In 1815, he was elevated to the rank of Staatskanzleirat. He was in close contact with Prince Metternich, and was in his retinue when he visited Paris in 1815 to negotiate the Second Treaty of Paris after the final downfall of Napoleon. He accompanied the Prince during his visits to Italy in June 1817 and to Styria in October 1817. He was awarded medals by AlexanderTsar of Russia and FerdinandKing of Sicily, perhaps as part of the general enthusiasm for awarding decorations among the former allies which followed the fall of the First French Empire. His great love was music. He started composing at an early age. He took lessons from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger in counterpoint and composition. He devoted much of his leisure to musical studies and to composition. His first collection of songs was published in 1798, when he was nineteen. He was a co-founder of the Wiener Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. The connoisseur Gassner judged that his works showed spirit, intellect, and taste. The Austrian-born French composer and publisher Pleyel praised his 24 Preludes and Fugues as original, masterly in counterpoint, technically challenging, and distinguished among works of their kind. Krufft thought them his best work, and dedicated them to Archduke Rudolf. Austrian musicologist Theophil Antonicek thought that the piano works and lieder were the highlights of his output, with the 24 Preludes and Fugues looking back to Bach, and the lieder being important forerunners to Schubert. His official cause of death was overwork, but it has been conjectured he might have been suffering from the ailment which claimed the life of Schubert. By the end of his life, he found the sound of the piano unbearable.
Compositions
His compositions include:
Piano works
Seven piano sonatas; Op. 4 in D minor, in four movements, was dedicated to Beethoven
Ninety-two lieder, some for soprano, some for bass, with piano accompaniment. These include settings of: "An Emma", "Bei einer Rose", "Der Abend", "Der arme Thoms", "Des Mädchens Klage", "Die Elfenkönigin", "Die Erwartung", "Fleiss hinab, mein stilles Leben", "Kennst du das Land?", "Lebenslied", "Serenade" and "Wehmut"
Twenty-four songs for four male voices
"Die Trösterin" for four voices
Works for chorus: "An die Freude", "Reiterlied" from Schiller's Wallenstein, "Trinklied vor der Schlacht"
Three hymns: "Gottes Allmacht und Güte", "Gott meine Zuflucht", "Lob Gottes im Frühling"
"Der Wanderer", for four voices and piano
Chamber music
Two sonatas for bassoon and piano, in F and in B-flat
Two sonatas for natural horn and piano, in E and in F
Variations for piano with cello or natural horn obbligato on a cavatina from the opera Der Augenarzt by Adalbert Gyrowetz
