Jessica Duchen
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Jessica Duchen

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My latest book is MYRA HESS - NATIONAL TREASURE, a biography of the great pianist who ran concerts daily in the National Gallery throughout World War II. I write about music for the Times and Sunday Times, the I Paper and BBC Music Magazine, among others. I also write fiction, librettos and occasionally plays, and create and present narrated concerts. Other books include the novel IMMORTAL, revealing the epic love story behind Beethoven's 'Immortal Beloved' letter; six more novels on musical topics; and biographies of Korngold, Fauré and the London Chamber Orchestra. I've been librettist for two operas with Roxanna Panufnik: DALIA, for Garsington 2022 ("sharp, affecting and embracing" - The Observer) and the winner of a Music Education Excellence Award; and SILVER BIRCH, shortlisted for an International Opera Award in 2018. Also two youth operas, THE SELFISH GIANT with composer John Barber and THE HAPPY PRINCESS with Paul Fincham. I live in London with my husband and our cat. >>REVIEWS<< "Magnificent" –– The Spectator on MYRA HESS - NATIONAL TREASURE "With obvious affection Duchen paints a rounded portrait of this much-loved and determined pianist, who instigated the famed wartime series at the National Gallery." –– The Financial Times – Best summer books of 2025 "Duchen thoroughly immerses us in Myra’s world… There are two earlier books about Hess but none for half a century. This one is definitive. Duchen is a seasoned music journalist who is able to turn what is perhaps a niche subject into one of general interest. Assiduously researched and sourced by someone with a profound knowledge of pianists and the piano… The book is beautifully designed and produced… This is a highly desirable biography that honours a great musician." Jeremy Nicholas – Gramophone “IMMORTAL is a revelation, offering the ideal blend of historic exactitude and a book you simply won’t want to put down. -- Daniel Hope, violinist and president of the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn "From its first, dazzlingly-rendered pages IMMORTAL pulls you into a vanished world and an utterly compelling love story – at its centre, one of music’s greatest and most enduring mysteries. Few authors understand better than Jessica Duchen the way music can change the course of a life; and few writers make that music leap more vividly off the page. If you’ve ever wondered what Ludwig van Beethoven was like as a man, here he is, painted as if from life: inspiring, infuriating, and intensely, unapologetically real. Because for all her understanding of art and character, and her brilliantly-described evocations of early 19th century Vienna in all its splendour and squalor, Duchen never forgets that at the core of all great music – and all great stories – beats a human heart." -- Richard Bratby, music critic for Gramophone and The Spectator "A thrilling read" -- John Suchet, The Daily Mail Christmas Books Choice, on GHOST VARIATIONS "Schumann's wonderful violin concerto has a tragic history unlike any other piece of music. In this splendid new novel Jessica Duchen manages to find the fine balance between facts and fiction.Her book reads like a thriller yet it's also a tribute to great music and musicians." -- Sir András Schiff on GHOST VARIATIONS "Enthralling...Jessica writes with an unpredictable and original voice and a dazzling perceptiveness" -- Joanna Lumley "Jessica Duchen's libretto is powerful and poetic" -- Richard Morrison, The Times
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