Dame Myra Hess
(1890-1956)
HESS, DAME MYRA (1890–1956), British pianist. Hess made her debut in Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with Sir Thomas Beecham in 1907, and subsequently toured Europe, the U.S., and Canada. She gained fame especially in performances of Scarlatti, Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, and the piano concertos of Mozart and Beethoven. During the Blitz in London in World War II she organized daily lunchtime concerts in the National Gallery and was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1941 for her contribution to maintaining morale in the city.
Sources:[Judith Cohen]
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