Download Zur Person Jörg Demus

About Jörg Demus
Born on December 2, 1928 in St. Pölten in Lower Austria.
His mother was a concert violinist, his father, Professor Otto
Demus, a world-famous art historian.
Jörg Demus took his first piano lessons at the age of six. When
he was eleven years old, he entered the Vienna Musical State
Academy. Besides his secondary education, which focused on the
humanities, he studied piano with Walter Kerschbaumer, organ
with Karl Walter, conducting with Swarowsky and Krips, and
composition with Joseph Marx. Later he continued his studies
abroad, primarily under Yves Nat in Paris and Walter Gieseking
in Saarbrücken, but also with Wilhelm Kempff, Arturo BenedettiMichelangli, and Edwin Fischer.
Aged fourteen, he had his first concert as a pianist in the
Brahms Saal of the Vienna Musikverein. In 1950 there followed
concerts in London and Zurich, and in 1951 he was on his first
extensive tour across South America. His debut in Paris in the
Salle Gaveau in 1953 turned out to be sensationally successful,
with the Figaro publishing an enthusiastic review by its senior
critic Clarendon, titled "Jörg Demus joue et gagne". In 1959
Jörg Demus was awarded the Premio Busoni at the International
Pianists’ Contest in Bolzano. Since then, Jörg Demus has
performed in almost all musical centres in the Old and New
Worlds. After his yearly initial concert in New York he tours
the United States, Japan, Asia, Australia, and all of Europe.
For many years Jörg Demus has been a celebrated guest performer
in international festivals. He played under Herbert von Karajan,
but also with Joseph Krips, Carlo Zecchi, André Cluytens,
Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Seijo Ozawa, to name just a few. Many
of his records were awarded international prizes. So far, his
repertoire comprises more than 350 LP’s, CD’s and video tapes,
including recordings of the complete piano music of Robert
Schumann and Claude Debussy, the Well-Tempered Clavier and the
Clavierübung by Bach, the piano concertos by Bach, Haydn,
Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, as well as numerous works of
chamber music and accompaniments of vocal recitals, primarily
with
Dietrich
Fischer-Diskau,
Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf,
Elly
Ameling, and Peter Schreier. Holding master courses in Japan,
the United States, Italy, and in his Piano Museum in the
Salzkammergut, Jörg Demus is also a highly renowned teacher.
His collecting historical keyboard instruments over several
decades – he has them restored so that they can be played on –
inspired numerous of Jörg Demus’ recordings. On the occasion of
Beethoven’s 200th anniversary, the composer’s Broadwood and
pianoforte built by Conrad Graf resounded under the hands of
Jörg Demus at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. In the
Salzkammergut he built his own museum dealing with the history
of the piano (Museo Cristofori). His volume of musical essays
was published by Brockhaus under the title Abenteuer der
DOROTHEUM & Co KG GmbH, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17,
E-Mail: [email protected], Telefax (+ 43 1) 515 60-379
Interpretation (Adventures of Interpretation), as well as a book
on Beethoven’s piano sonatas. For several years Jörg Demus has
also devoted himself to composing, writing sonatas for piano and
violin and for piano and violoncello, trios, pieces for solo
piano, and a great number of lieder. Currently he is working on
an opera, The Fool and Death, based on a text by Hugo von
Hoffmannsthal.
1977
1979
1981
1986
awarded the Beethoven Ring of the Vienna Beethoven Society
awarded the Mozart Medal of the Vienna Mozart Association
appointed Doctor honoris causa at Amherst
awarded the Schumann Prize of the Town of Zwickau
DOROTHEUM & Co KG GmbH, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17,
E-Mail: [email protected], Telefax (+ 43 1) 515 60-379