Aldeburgh Festival 2015

Centred around a complex of former barley-malting works in Suffolk, the Aldeburgh Festival is one of Britain’s most esteemed. Founded in 1948 by Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Eric Crozier, it began as an intimate affair, in Pears’ words a “modest Festival a with a few concerts given by friends.” Now, the quality and quantity of music performed in Aldeburgh always astounds. This year’s season, running from 12 to 28 June, looks to be no exception.
Aldeburgh Festival 2015
Curated once more by world famous modernist pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Aldeburgh’s line-up is heavy on contemporary and new music. Harrison Birtwistle returns with the world premiere of The Cure (12 – 15 Jun), a chamber opera that will appear in a double-bill with The Corridor before transferring to the Royal Opera House.
Chamber highlights look to include Quatuor Mosaîques (13 & 15 Jun), the ‘world’s leading period instrument quartet’, in a pair of concerts that take in Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert; a collaborative evening between Aimard, composer George Benjamin and some of their favourite musicians (20 Jun); and Ensemble Organum’s exploration of the exotic influences behind Renaissance polyphony (23 Jun). There will be solo recitals from countertenor Andreas Scholl (13 Jun), pianist Louis Lortie (22 Jun) and Aimard himself (27 Jun).
On a larger scale, there are several appearances from John Eliot Gardiner and his sainted Monteverdi Choir, including Mozart’s Requiem (19 Jun) and some of Bach’s motets (20 Jun) – for the latter, joined by violinist Isabelle Faust. In celebration of his 90^th birthday, there will be a trio of concerts celebrating the music of Pierre Boulez (13 – 19 Jun). And Darcey Bussell will star in Britten’s ballad The Prince of the Pagodas (23 Jun), before Oliver Knussen closes the festival with a combination of excerpts from the same piece and gamelan (28 Jun).
Alongside the big name events, there are numerous workshops, improvisations to film, talks, organised walks and an open air Ipswich appearance for Peckham’s Multy-Story orchestra. If the classical music festival seems an inherently conservative idea, a place for elder statesmen to quaff champagne and run through old symphonic warhorses, Aldeburgh will prove you wrong.