Myra Hess
Dame Myra Hess was one of the best-known and most beloved of British pianists. She was a pupil of Julian Pascal and Orlando Morgan. At 12 she earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and became a pupil of Tobias Matthay, whom she viewed as her primary teacher.
She debuted at the age of 17 in Beethoven's Fourth Concerto, with Thomas Beecham conducting. In a departure for pianists of her era she took a special interest in chamber music, including participating in a piano duo with her cousin Irene Scharrer. She toured Europe and the United States.
She was a warm person and well liked, particularly in English-speaking countries, and visited America frequently. Her reputation was particularly enhanced by her innovative and deeply appreciated venture during World War II, the National Gallery Concerts. Wartime blackouts closed the concert halls of London. In the meantime, the National Gallery in London had been emptied of its art treasures, which were sent to parts of the country less vulnerable to German bombing. It was Hess's idea to open the Gallery to the public for concerts every day during the lunch hours.
Londoners flocked to these informal concerts. Hess arranged concerts from solo recitals to full-scale orchestral and choral music. She personally appeared more than any other artist (never asking for a fee), and got some of the finest musicians of the country to appear there. She received her knighthood as a Dame of the British Empire for this service in 1942. The effort was seen as a major boost to morale, and it is said that when the artworks were returned to the Gallery in 1946, ending the musical series, that there was considerable disappointment.
In common with many artists she adopted a wide-ranging repertory, including much music of her time, when she was younger, but focused increasingly on the great classic masters in later years. Her playing was noted for both warmth and thoughtfulness. She made numerous transcriptions, of which one in particular, Bach's chorale prelude Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring from Cantata 147, has become an international favorite.
© TiVo
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The Complete Solo & Concerto Studio Recordings (Recorded 1928-1957)
Klassiek - Released by APR on 1 feb. 2013
5 de Diapason16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9 - Brahms: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 (Historic Broadcast Recordings)
Myra Hess, Griller String Quartet
Klassiek - Released by APR on 1 mrt. 2007
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J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Klassiek - Released by Centaur Records, Inc. on 6 sep. 2019
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Beethoven: Sonatas No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 & No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110
Klassiek - Released by The state51 Conspiracy on 3 apr. 2020
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Myra Hess Performs Original Piano Works
Klassiek - Released by Torill Music on 30 aug. 2019
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Schumann, Bach & Others: Piano Works
Klassiek - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 19 jun. 2017
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Beethoven: Piano Sonata Nos. 30 and 31
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 19 sep. 2011
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Live Recordings from the University of Illinois (Recorded 1949)
Myra Hess, University of Illinois Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, John M. Kuypers, Victor Kolar
Klassiek - Released by APR on 28 apr. 2008
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Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 14 / Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Hess, Walter) (1951, 1954) (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Johannes Brahms)
Klassiek - Released by IDIS on 1 jan. 2004
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J.S. Bach, Scarlatti & Others: Piano Works
Klassiek - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 1 sep. 1994
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Isaac Stern, Vol. 10 (Live)
Isaac Stern, Ernest Ansermet, Sir John Pritchard, Myra Hess, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by DOREMI on 5 nov. 2021
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Brahms: Symphony No. 3 - No. 4, Piano Concerto No. 2
Erica Morini, Myra Hess, Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic
Symfonische muziek - Released by Infinity on 30 jun. 2020
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Brahms: Trio pour piano, Op. 8 (Mono Version)
Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals, Myra Hess
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1956
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Beethoven, Schubert & Brahms: Violin Sonatas
Joseph Szigeti, Mieczysław Horszowski, Myra Hess
Kamermuziek - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 11 nov. 2008
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SCHUMANN, R.: Piano Concerto in A Minor / Carnaval (Hess) (1937-1938)
Myra Hess, Unknown Artist, Walter Goehr
Concerten voor klavier - Released by Naxos on 12 nov. 2000
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Women of Piano. Great Female Pianists of the Golden Age, Vol. 4
Myra Hess, Elly Ney, Peter Phillips
Klassiek - Released by Novus Promusica on 15 nov. 2023
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Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms & Reger : Cello Sonata No. 3 - Arpeggione Sonata - Cello Sonata No. 1 - Suite for Unaccompanied Cello
Myra Hess, Emanuel Feuermann, Gerald Moore, Theo van der Pas
Klassiek - Released by Infinity on 15 jul. 2021
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Hess: Legendary Public Performances, 1949-1960
Klassiek - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 1 aug. 2011
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Franz Schubert & Johannes Brahms
Myra Hess, Jelly D'arányi, Felix Salmond, Hollywood String Quartet, Victor Aller
Klassiek - Released by Altair on 8 aug. 2023
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Éclats. Piano Music from the Golden-Age
Klassiek - Released by Novus Promusica on 2 feb. 2024
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Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms & Reger
Emanuel Feuermann, Myra Hess, Gerald Moore, Theo van der Pas
Klassiek - Released by Altair on 9 aug. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo