Myra Hess Concert: Korngold Ensemble Vienna

During the Second World War, Dame Myra Hess's extraordinary series of more than 1,500 lunchtime concerts transformed the National Gallery into a beacon of resilience. While the Gallery's paintings had been removed for safekeeping from Nazi bombing raids, music filled its empty rooms with hope, comfort and defiance. Among Hess's guest performers were the exiled Austrian musicians Arnold and Alma Rosé, father and daughter. Arnold Rosé enjoyed a distinguished 57-year career as leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and founder of the celebrated Rosé Quartet. Alma Rosé, a gifted violinist in her own right, was deported to Auschwitz in July 1943, where she conducted the women's orchestra before her death in April 1944. This commemorative concert marks both the 80th anniversary of Arnold Rosé's death (25 August 1946) and the 120th anniversary of Alma Rosé's birth (3 November 1906). Echoing the spirit of Myra Hess's wartime concerts, it celebrates the enduring power of music to offer hope, courage and humanity in times of conflict and uncertainty.