Jörg Demus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jörg Demus (born December 2, 1928, in St. Pölten) is an Austrian pianist.

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, studying piano and conducting. He graduated in 1945, then 17 years old. His debut as a pianist, however, came when he was still a student: at the age of 14, Demus played in the Brahms-Saal for the prestigious Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.^[1]

He has been active as a Lied accompanist and a chamber music partner, appearing with such artists as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Josef Suk. He has performed widely as a soloist both on modern and on historical instruments and has collaborated with Paul Badura-Skoda on the concert platform and in a book on the interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Demus played Romantic works quite often; he took on the part of accompanist and performed in chamber music ensembles.