My Myra at the Bishopsgate Institute

The Bishopsgate Institute is celebrating the return of its Piano-in-Residence Myra, the restored 1927 Steinway Model D Grand piano which was once owned by Dame Myra Hess, with a new concert series My Myra. 

To open the series, on Saturday 8 September 2018, Martin Segerstråle (artistic director of the series) presents a programme of chamber-music by female composers including some of Dame Myra Hess's repertoire. There will be music by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Clara Schumann along with Dame Myra Hess's most famous piece, her transcription of Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

The My Myra series is curated by individual musicians inspired by their own experience of Myra, and the concerts take place in the institute's stunning 120-year-old Great Hall. The second event in the series, Admission: One Shilling (17 November), focuses on Dame Myra Hess's famous wartime National Gallery concerts with Dame Patricia Routledge and pianist Piers Lane.

Dame Myra Hess’s preferred piano for performances was a Rosewood Model D Steinway Grand from 1927. When she retired in 1961, Steinway presented her with her beloved piano, signed by Henry Z Steinway himself. The piano came to the Institute in 1966 after Dame Myra Hess’s death. In 2017 the piano went off to Steinway & Sons' workshops for restoration.


Full details from the Bishopsgate Institute website.