The Great Myra Hess

Myra Hess (1890-1965) plays her very famous arrangement of Bach’s Chorale “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring“. Her favourite anecdote relating to “Jesu, Joy“ concerned a British soldier who whistled it on a train during the war. “Are you interested in Bach?“, the soldier was asked by a journalist. “No“, he answered. “But you are whistling a Bach composition“, the newsman insisted. “That’s no Bach“, he replied indignantly. “That’s Myra Hess.“ (From Marian McKenna’s “Myra Hess -- A Portrait“)