For over six years every week day throughout World War II, Dame Myra Hess, Britains greatest concert pianist, ran lunchtime concerts at Londons National Gallery. Never interrupted by the bombing and with thousands queueing daily they became the stuff of legend, proving musics power to support us in the darkest of times. This biography is full of insights into Hess collaborations with towering musicians of her day, and her activities as an unsung activist, helping refugee musicians from Nazi-occupied countries to find their feet in Britain and personally endeavouring to aid young British musicians faced with wartime deprivations. Dame Myra Hess emerges from behind the myths: a unique personality full of generosity, courage, humour and sheer, unfailing chutzpah. In conversation with Catherine Larner