The English pianist Dame Myra Hess is best remembered for two things - her piano arrangement of Bach's cantata Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring, which achieved great popularity, and her wartime concerts at the National Gallery.

Born in London, Dame Myra studied there and remained very much London-based all her life, despite many overseas tours. She made her London debut in 1907 and her US in 1922.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, all music ceased and there was even jingoistic prejudice against German composers. Hess had the idea of using the National Gallery, which had been emptied of its artworks, for lunchtime concerts. Despite an unsuitable acoustic, it became immensely popular and a symbol of cultural continuity amid the destruction. Hess organised more than 1,300 concerts, inviting leading musicians to perform, and often played there herself, including a complete cycle of the Mozart piano concertos. She was made a Dame in recognition of this work.

Dame Myra had a particular affinity with the music of Bach, Scarlatti and Mozart and was notable in Beethoven and Schumann too. She died in 1965, aged 75.

-Roger Moodiman, Marine Parade, Brighton