Like his long-time colleague and friend Paul Badura-Skoda, with whom he has so often played, the Austrian Jörg Demus has had the good fortune to still be able to play at a very advanced age, and to produce a large number of recordings. A magnificent performer not only of Schubert but also of Debussy (his handsome complete works recorded in 1969 is still available), he leaves behind him some impressive records, notably as a partner to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. But it was with Johann Sebastian Bach that he enjoyed the greatest affair of his life.
Jörg Demus was 22 years old when he first recorded an album of Bach for Westminster, a label he would stick with for a very long time. In the late 1950s, he recorded his first version of the Well-Tempered Clavier, and then he re-recorded Book II for the young label Intercord in 1970. In the meantime he set down a complete cycle for Radio Stuttgart which is published here for the first time.
Seven years separate the recording of the two Books. While Demus's timeless and lucid art is clearly consistent across the two books, it is the sound recording that differed the most between the two, in an era where the technique was evolving swiftly. Although this addition was probably an attempt at unifying these two sonic worlds, the First Book, recorded in 1954, suffered from a rather dry restitution; while the Second, from 1961, rendered perfect justice to the supple playing and mellifluous legato of a pianist who gives little heed to fashion. It would be pointless to wax musicological over this version with its great musicality, its perfectly clear construction, and not a hint of intellectual posturing. Here, clarity and elegance alone lend Bach's music simplicity and a radiant classicism. © François Hudry/Qobuz