Jörg Demus

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. He played with singers such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, as a piano duo with Paul Badura-Skoda, and with string players such as Josef Suk and Antonio Janigro. Demus was instrumental in bringing the historic fortepiano to concert podiums. He was a member of the Legion of Honour, among many awards. He is regarded as one of the leading Austrian pianists of the immediate post-World War II era.

Early life and education Demus was born in St. Pölten; his father was the art historian Otto Demus, and his mother was a concert violinist.

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 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.