Born in Hampstead, Myra Hess was the youngest of four children. She commenced playing the piano at the age of five and in due course passed the junior examinations of the Trinity College of Music.

By the age of seven she was a student at the Guildhall School of Music where she was influenced by Julian Pascal and Dr Lando Morgan.On gaining a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music she became a student of Tobias Matthay, one of the greatest piano teachers of her time and it was his deep insight into both the psychological and technical aspects of playing that was responsible for her early maturity as a concert pianist.

Myra Hess made her debut with a recital at the Aeolian Hall when she was seventeen and this resulted in an engagement to play the Beethoven G Major Concerto with Sir Thomas Beecham. The outstanding success of her performance gained her recognition lmost immediately and within a few years she was playing in most parts of Europe.

Of her first New York concert in 1922 the well known critic W. J. Henderson wrote: "She is a great pianist without limitation" and praised the imagination and sensitivity shown in the "subtly wrought details of her readings and the singular aptness of her purpose" Myra Hess went on to play all over the U.S.A. and with all of its major orchestras.

In 1936 King George V made her a Companion of the Order of the British Empire and five years later she became a Dame Commander of the same Order. In 1941 she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society - a distinction reserved for only the greatest of musicians.

Before the 1939 - 45 war she made many tours in Germany, Austria, France and Holland. At this time she was noted for her performances of Bach, Scarlatti, and Mozart and Beethoven. She also specialised in Schumann and took an active interest in all types of chamber music.

In the first months of the Second World War all live music performances ceased in Britain. Dame Myra abandoned a tour of America and on returning to London inaugurated what was to

become a remarkable and popular series of lunch-time concerts at the National Gallery. This was exactly what everybody wanted as the black-out made it difficult for London's suburban residents to travel up to town after dark.

It is not practical to list the enormous range of the works performed at these concerts but mention should be made of the outstanding performances of the complete series of Mozart piano concertos in collaboration with Alec Sherman and his New London Orchestra.

By the Autumn of 1944, 1300 concerts had been performed at the National Gallery in this series, £15,000 paid out in artists' fees and £10,000 paid to the Musicians' Benevolent Fund. The concerts continued throughout the bombing of London though they ran at a loss during the most difficult days. However, contributions from music lovers in America helped to defray expenses when attendances were small.

In the aftermath of World War 2 Dame Myra resumed her international career and was particularly successful in the United States. Her programming was often uncompromising in her later years (a favourite recital consisted entirely of late Beethoven sonatas) yet her box office appeal remained as strong as ever. When illness struck in the l960's she turned to teaching, and was especially associated with Stephen Bishop and Yonty Solomon in the early stages of their careers.

Dame Myra died in 1965 but will be remembered for her morale-boosting concerts at the National Gallery during World War 2, her transcription of the Bach Chorale Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring , and her interpretation of Beethoven.