The Aldeburgh Festival

A FIVE NIGHT HOLIDAY | 11 JUNE 2023

Founded by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in 1948, the Aldeburgh Festival is now one of the world’s best-known and most innovative music festivals. Most concerts are given in The Maltings concert hall, a spectacularly-located venue overlooking the reed beds of this stretch of the Suffolk coast. Some concerts are still performed in a variety of other local venues but it is at The Maltings in Snape, five miles from Aldeburgh itself, where the genius and foresight of Britten and Pears lives on.

the itinerary

Make your own way to the 3* Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh. Parking is available in the streets around the hotel, or you may wish to travel by train to Saxmundham, the closest station to Aldeburgh and continue by taxi – pre-booking is essential so ask for details.

After our morning concert, we will drive to The Red House, the home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears from 1957 until their respective deaths here in 1976 and 1986. We will see the Library where the world’s most distinguished musicians would come to rehearse Britten’s compositions and his composing studio overlooking the garden. We will stop at Aldeburgh Church where both men are buried.

The morning is free for independent exploration in Aldeburgh before departing for a concert at Snape.

We drive to Helmingham Hall to visit the award-winning gardens, designed by Lady Tollemache. During our tour we will visit the parterre, impressive herbaceous borders, the rose garden, and the knot garden. Originally a half-timbered courtyard manor house, it retains the moat that surrounds the hall, making it an island after the two drawbridges are raised. The concert this evening is held at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, known locally as the Cathedral of the Marshes because of its prominent position close to the sea.

Southwold is one of the most picturesque small seaside towns in the country. It sits on rising ground and offers extensive panoramic views of the North Sea and the town’s elegant greens are lined by stately Victoria town houses and villas. There will be time to explore the traditional shops for which Southwold is well known or visit the famous Adnam’s brewery.

DAY

The tour ends after breakfast today.

TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP

11 June £1,747 £350

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown. Supplement for Sea View room £150

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Five nights’ accommodation with breakfast • Four dinners • Tickets for performances as described • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities • Services of the Kirker Tour Leader

music programme

11 June, 7.30pm: Snape Maltings BBC Philharmonic Orchestra John Storgards, conductor Simone Lamsma, violin De Falla: Fantasia baetica – arranged for orchestra by Francesco Coll Britten: Violin Concerto Op.15 Sibelius: Symphony No.5 in E flat, Op.82 12 June, 11am: Jubilee Hall Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy, pianos Works by Bach and Shostakovich Pavel Kolesnikov is a featured artist at this year’s Festival 12 June, 7.30pm: Snape Maltings BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Rumon Gamba, conductor Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 ‘ Pathetique’ 13 June, 4pm: Britten Studio, Snape Maltings Danish String Quartet Programme includes Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A minor D. 804 ‘Rosamunde’ 14 June, 8pm: Britten Studio, Snape Maltings Knussen Chamber Orchestra Ryan Wigglesworth, director and piano Evan Hughes, baritone Mozart: Quintet in E flat for piano and winds K. 452 Mozart: Serenade No12 in C minor K. 388/384a Two short works by Eliot Carter 15 June, 6pm: Snape Maltings City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Kazuki Yamada, conductor Ian Bostridge, tenor Holst: Japanese Suite Op.33 Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings Elgar: Symphony No. 1 in A flat, Op.55