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Myra Hess: National Treasure

Jewish Book Week 2025

Thu 6 Mar
Words

Myra Hess: National Treasure

Jewish Book Week 2025

Speaker Jessica Duchen
Chair Nigel Hess

Jessica Duchen offers a compelling and nuanced portrait of Dame Myra Hess, Britain’s beloved concert pianist renowned for her legendary wartime concerts.


Dame Myra Hess, Britain’s most celebrated concert pianist, became a national icon through her legendary lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery, which took place every weekday throughout World War II, bolstering Londoners’ morale. In the first biography of Hess in nearly 50 years, Jessica Duchen offers a compelling and nuanced portrait of this charming, complex and formidable woman. Join the acclaimed author and Sunday Times and BBC Music Magazine critic in conversation with Nigel Hess, Ivor Novello Award-winning composer and Dame Myra’s great-nephew, as they explore Dame Myra’s remarkable life.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval. 


About the speakers:

Jessica Dunchen is a music critic, author and librettist. She contributes to The Sunday Times, the i news and BBC Music Magazine and her operatic work includes Silver Birch and Dalia with the composer Roxanna Panufnik for Garsington Opera. Among her books are biographies of Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Gabriel Fauré, as well as seven novels on music-related topics. She has created and performed numerous narrated concerts, working with musicians including Fenella Humphreys, Viv McLean, Philippe Graffin and Steven Devine, among others, which have featured at Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and festivals around Britain, France and Australia. Her biography of Dame Myra Hess is due for publication in spring 2025 by Kahn & Averill. Jessica read music at Cambridge and lives in London with her violinist husband. She enjoys playing the piano, hiking, cooking and relaxing at home with the cat.

Nigel Hess composes for television, theatre, film and the concert hall. He has scored many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe, receiving the New York Drama Desk Award for Much Ado About Nothing and Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway. He also devised Admission: One Shilling, the story of the National Gallery’s lunchtime concerts founded by his great-aunt, pianist Dame Myra Hess during the Second World War, and this has been performed extensively around the UK and internationally.

Nigel has scored numerous television dramas, receiving the Ivor Novello award twice for Best TV Theme (Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Testament). His most well-known film score is Ladies in Lavender, featuring violinist Joshua Bell.

Plan your visit

Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.

Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.

The Venue 
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.

Event Times 
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.

  • Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
  • We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
  • Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible

Access

We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.

If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk. 

 

Food & Drink

Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.

Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.

Date:Thu 6 Mar
Start time:8.30pm (Doors: 8pm)
Venue:Hall Two
Price:£5.00-£16.00
+ 12.5% (£6 cap) Transaction fee.
+ £1 Building levy. More info
Availability:Tickets available
£5 Under 30s tickets at JBW
A limited number of £5 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for this show. To purchase an 'Under 30s' ticket, please choose the 'Under 30s' price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all 'Under 30s' tickets have sold out. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue.
Unwaged tickets at JBW
Tickets at a special rate of 50% off are available to those in receipt of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support or Job Seekers allowance. Please contact info@jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk to book a concession priced ticket.
SAVE 15% when you book 3+ JBW events
Discount automatically applied when 3+ events have been added to your online basket. This offer applies to all in-person paid events at Kings Place (not online, off-site or free events). Offer excludes Under 30s & Unwaged Tickets.

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