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Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on chamber music and ''
lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
''. He played with singers such as
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...
and
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...
, as a piano duo with
Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed w ...
, and with string players such as Josef Suk and
Antonio Janigro Antonio Janigro (21 January 19181 May 1989) was an Italian cellist and conductor. Biography Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Milan C ...
. Demus was instrumental in bringing the historic
fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...
to concert podiums. He was a member of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, among many awards. He is regarded as one of the leading Austrian pianists of the immediate post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
era.


Early life and education

Demus was born in St. Pölten; his father was the art historian
Otto Demus Otto Demus (born St. Pölten, Austria, 1902; died Vienna, 17 November 1990) was an Austrian art historian and Byzantinist. He is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. Between 1921 and 1928, Demus studied art history at the Uni ...
, and his mother was a concert violinist. At the age of six, Demus received his first piano lessons. Five years later, at the age of 11, he entered the
Vienna Academy of Music The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...
, studying piano, composition and conducting. He made his debut as a pianist when he was still a student: at the age of 15, he played in the Brahms-Saal of the prestigious
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The (), also known as the (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Beethoven’s friend Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theatre in Vienna, Austria. Overview ...
Bach's '' Das wohltemperierte Klavier''. He graduated in 1945, then 17 years old, after which he continued to study conducting with
Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...
and
Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil ...
. Demus studied in Paris with
Yves Nat Yves Philippe Avit Nat (29 December 1890 – 31 August 1956) was a French pianist and composer. Biography Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise each ...
from 1951 to 1953. In 1953 he further studied interpretation with
Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist, teacher and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interp ...
,
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (; 5 January 1920 – 12 June 1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. According to ''The New York Times'', he was perhaps the most reclusive, ...
, and
Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied m ...
, and attended master classes with
Walter Gieseking Walter Wilhelm Gieseking (5 November 1895 – 26 October 1956) was a French-born German pianist and composer. Gieseking was renowned for his subtle touch, pedaling, and dynamic control—particularly in the music of Debussy and Ravel; he made inte ...
.


Pianist

In 1951, Demus made his first tour to South America and then appeared internationally in concert halls. He appeared in England and France. In 1972 he toured Southern Africa in all the major cities. In 1974, Demus performed for the
Peabody Mason Concert Benefactor The name Peabody Mason comes from Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, who until her death in 1948 was an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music. Concert series ...
series in Boston. Demus was active as a
lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
accompanist and a chamber music partner, appearing with singers such as
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...
,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...
,
Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a Dutch soprano, who is particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the globe, she w ...
and
Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...
, and with string players such as Josef Suk and
Antonio Janigro Antonio Janigro (21 January 19181 May 1989) was an Italian cellist and conductor. Biography Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Milan C ...
. He performed widely as a soloist on both modern and historical instruments, returning the
fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...
to concert podiums. Demus collaborated with
Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed w ...
on the concert platform and on a book concerning the interpretation of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's
piano sonatas Piano sonatas may refer to: * Piano sonatas (Beethoven) * Piano sonatas (Boulez) * Piano sonatas (Chopin) {{Disambiguation ...
. His playing of Bach's works showed their structure as well as melodic lines. He favoured Schumann's music, revealing a high degree of playful levity besides romantic expressiveness. His playing of Debussy's music stands out in ''Klangsinn'', a sense for a colourful impressionist sound world. He collected historic keyboard instruments and presented them to a museum. He lectured at the music academies of Vienna and Stuttgart. Demus continued playing until shortly before his death, performing with Badura-Skoda at the 2018 Linz
Brucknerfest The International Brucknerfest Linz is an annual series of music events held in Linz. The music event series is named after Anton Bruckner and is organised by the Brucknerhaus. The Brucknerfest was introduced in 1974 on the initiative of the ar ...
. He died in Vienna on 16 April 2019, aged 90, after a short illness.


Composer

Demus was also a composer, chiefly of music for the piano, chamber music and lied, composing in a generally conservative style. Music for cello and piano takes its inspiration from the poems of
Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...
and the late music by Schumann. He also completed a fragmentary Piano Piece in C minor D. 916c by Schubert.


Awards and prizes

In 1956 Demus won first prize at the
Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition The Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists that takes place in Bolzano, Italy. It was founded in 1949 by Cesare Nordio in memory of the pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. History The firs ...
. Demus received the Mozart Medal of the Mozartgemeinde Wien in 1979. He was awarded the Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz in 2006, the Beethoven Ring of the Beethoven Society Vienna in 1977, the
Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau The Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau is a classical music award. Since 1964 it has been awarded by the Lord Mayor of Zwickau. Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau. Between 1964 and 2002 the prize was awarded annually, since 2003 bienni ...
and the Order of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
.


Recordings

Among the many recordings by Demus are sets of the complete piano works by both
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
and
Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
. He also recorded Schubert's ''Impromptus'' on the
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
label. He made recordings on historical keyboard instruments, including, for example, the earliest such recording of Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata in 1970, on a Broadwood dating from 1802. He recorded several of his own compositions with cellist Maria Kliegel, including ''Poetische Sonate'' (''Poetic Sonata'') in G minor, Op. 8, ''Liebe'' (''Love''), Op. 21, after Verlaine's ''Crimen Amoris'', the Cello Sonata in C minor, "Il Tramonto", Op. 35, and ''Nacht der Sterne'' (''Starry Night''), Op. 14.


References


External links

* *
Jörg Demus
Konzertagentur Jahn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demus, Jorg 1928 births 2019 deaths Austrian classical pianists Austrian male classical pianists Classical accompanists Austrian fortepianists Austrian classical composers Austrian male classical composers People from Sankt Pölten Musicians from Lower Austria