Jörg Demus (piano)
The Dresden Concerts 1962-1972
rec. 1962-1972
Meloclassic MC1081 [2 CDs: 157]

Jörg Demus was the youngest child of musician Erika Demus and art historian Otto Demus; his parents divorced in 1933 with Erika taking custody of the young boys. Jörg attended the Vienna Reichshochschule für Musik from the age of eleven where he studied with Walter Kerschbaumer, a pupil of Moriz Rosenthal. He scored early success was a recital at the Vienna Musikverein; the director offered a free recital to a pupil from Kerschbaumer’s class and, with just two weeks notice even the more mature students declined. Demus, an enthusiastic 15 year old, pounced on the opportunity and received  high praise for his performances of Beethoven and Schumann sonatas alongside shorter works by Bach and Brahms. Three years later he still received praise though a distinction was made between Demus the excellent musician and Demus the unskilled pianist. It appears to have been an isolated incident as a 1947 reviewer described him as having remarkable technical abilities; some later critics pointed to a lack of individuality and spirit. His career lasted until 2018 where he shared the stage with one of his long-time partners, Paul Badura-Skoda – another was Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. His solo repertoire revolved around Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann with Franck and the complete piano works of Debussy thrown in for good measure, a great deal of which he recorded so the recitals on this disc seem to be a typical cross-section of his repertoire.

His 1972 Dresden recital opens with Bach in a performance that I found correct rather than engaging but it does have an unaffected simplicity that lifts it from the ordinary. He omits the repeats in the præludium and allemande but observes the others and it is in the repeats of the sarabande that I found his most human playing, finding the espressivo that is marked in my, admittedly, far from urtext score. The minuet, with its exact staccato placing lacks the buoyancy that I expect but perhaps that is more authentic for this baroque dance. The short dances by Schubert, not that often played in concert, are more successful, with plenty of bounce to the rhythms. I liked the Ecossaises in particular, each one startlingly short – the whole set of eleven only takes three minutes. Like Chopin’s Scottish dances they do now sound especially Scottish and could be rustic dances from any number of countries. He makes a contrasting choice of six waltzes from Schubert’s 38 Waltzes, Ländler and Ecossaises, numbers 1, 2, 7, 6, 9 and 10 – the booklet just says 6 waltzes – and chooses to end on the slightly brooding B minor waltz to lead into the key and mood of the Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. This is a wonderful reading, intense and passionate, a complete contrast to the other contrapuntal work in this recital. His sense of timing is impeccable, there is a rich tonal quality to his voicing and an easy flexibility in his line. The Chorale is clearly the emotional heart and Demus is utterly convincing in the gradual growth of the arpeggiando theme from its gentle awakening to its final passionate outburst as he is in the elegiac music that surrounds it. His pianissimo subito is judged to perfection and builds to a real cry from the heart. The fugue is hugely satisfying and clearly shows the technique he commanded; taken at a good forward moving pace it isn’t about virtuosity though that shines through every bar. The subject  is clear in every appearance without any undue stress or accented detail, one is just aware of it singing out of the texture. Demus manages to strike a balance between the demands of Franck’s complex writing and the dramatic tension and narrative, a balance that makes the choral and opening pages of the fugue especially so gloriously successful. He had the work in his repertoire from his early post-war recitals when he was 18 and it is evident how much the work meant to him. Demus can be heard announcing his encores, three Debussy preludes. I occasionally wanted a bit more space, some phrases feeling a little rushed but Demus does create a lovely sound in Les collines d’Anacapri and an impressive and unrelenting fury in Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest – tumulteuex indeed. La fille aux cheveux de lin is less sentimental than some but still offers lovely playing.

Next up is an all Schumann recital given in April 1968 featuring two large scale works, the Études symphoniques and the G minor Sonata with a host of smaller works, among them the Toccata and second Novelette, an altogether taxing programme. Demus gives no indication of that and is in supreme control throughout. He brings character to the symphonic études, especially clear in the comic pomposity he finds to the accented chords of variation 4; there is an unmarked diminuendo here that leads wonderfully into variation 5. The eighth variation is quite free with some unusual little forward surges through the triplets and quadruplets and he takes the quintuplets of variation eleven unevenly though he is as effectively lyrical as anywhere in this recital. Elsewhere he is vigorous and bold, a boldness that continues into the novellette and toccata, both of which are a tempestuous showcase of a rugged and flexible technique. I wasn’t that enamoured of his playing in the familiar F sharp major Romance which comes across a little stiff and workmanlike, especially the left hand. There is a little of this in the andantino of the G minor sonata but once the figuration becomes more flowing he relaxes and he is very compelling in the lyrical sections of the finale. Otherwise this is a thrilling and driven account. The Abegg variations make for an exciting conclusion, its virtuoso flourishes and sparkling left hand writing so different to the demands of the other works here and Demus sounds more winning in the less extrovert variations. Once again he announces his encores, a fiery intermezzo from Faschingsschwank aus Wien, an equally passionate In Der Nacht whose middle section particularly impresses and, aptly enough Abschied from Waldszenen, beautifully wrought and some of the nicest playing on the disc. His announcement raises a chuckle though for the life of me I can’t tell what he says. More Schumann comes in the form of the Concerto, a radio studio recording from 1962 with the Dresden Staatskapelle under Kirill Kondrashin. There is lovely interplay between the orchestra throughout the work though in the first movement Demus is relatively restrained, determined to balance his solo playing with the orchestra, finely attentive to instrumental detail; some of the figuration is almost a murmur to accompany a piano and wind duet. After a nicely wrought and conversational intermezzo the finale is joyful, a bright contrast to the more subdued opening movement.

This well presented disc of a pianist that I haven’t hitherto paid attention to contains some wonderful playing and Demus is clearly a strong Schumann player and high in my estimation when it comes to the Franck Prélude, Choral and Fugue but I find myself wondering at the differing sides he presents; the almost self-effacing and restrained pianist of the Schumann concerto’s first movement or the Bach, the deeply thoughtful and complex pianist of the Franck or the sweeping passions and grand gestures of the Schumann.

Rob Challinor

Contents
CD1
rec. 15 January, 1972 Sempergalerie, Gobelinsaal, Dresden (live recording)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Partita No.1 in B Flat Major BWV.825
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
2 Scherzos D.593
11 Ecossaises D.781
6 Waltzes D.145
César Franck (1822-1890)
Prélude, Chorale et Fugue FWV.21
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Prélude No.5 Bk.1 Les collines d’Anacapri
Prélude No.7 Bk.1 Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest
Prélude No.8 Bk.1 la fille aux cheveux de lin

rec. 20 April, 1968 Sempergalerie, Gobelinsaal, Dresden (live recording)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)Études symphoniques Op.13

CD2
Novelette in D Major Op.21 No.2
Romance in F Sharp Major Op.28 No.2
Toccata in C Major Op.7
Piano Sonata No.2 in G Minor Op.22
Abegg Variations Op.1
Intermezzo from Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op.26
In der Nacht from Fantasiestücke Op.12
Abschied from Waldszenen Op.82

rec. 22 March, 1962 Hygienemuseum, KongressSaal, Dresden (radio studio recording)
Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A Minor Op.54
Staatskapelle Dresden,
Kirill Kondrashin (conductor)