Event: United Kingdom

Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts

When:	13 - 29 Jun 2008 (annual)
Where:	Snape Maltings Concert Hall
Costs:	Various
Opening Hours:	Various

First held in 1948 - the brainchild of Suffolk composer Benjamin Britten and his life partner, the tenor Peter Pears, Aldeburgh Festival continues its fine tradition of showcasing both acknowledged masterpieces and new contemporary works in the beautiful seaside town of Aldeburgh. Opening the 60th festival there is a production of Death in Venice and the closing performance of Bach's B Minor Mass conducted by Masaaki Suzuki is dedicated to the memory of Imogen Holst. No doubt there will also be many tributes to great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who died in April, aged 80.

Not surprisingly, Britten's works have always been championed at the festival, in collaboration with such great artists as Rostropovich and Sviatislav Richter. Current artistic director Thomas Adès continues Britten's ideal of championing the new, continually expanding the festival's artistic and musical horizons.

Japanese artists top and tail the festival as Yoshi Oida directs three performances of Death in Venice (8, 11 & 12 June) while Suzuki teams up with the Britten Pears orchestra for the Bach at the end.

In between Adès conducts the Philharmonia himself (with the world première of his Powder Her Face Suite) and also the Northern Sinfonia, which travels south from its Sage Gateshead home for three concerts over two days, the other two featuring leader Bradley Cresswick and artistic director Thomas Zehtemair (22 & 23 June). Zehtemair also appears solo (13 June) and with his Zehtemair Quartet (23 June), while other soloists appearing include pianists Alfred Brendel (9 June) and Louis Lortie (18 June), baritone Simon Keenlyside (10 June), tenor Robert Murray and Masaaki Suzuki playing a Thamar organ, one of only eight organs that survived Cromwell's troops in the 17th century (21 June).

Aldeburgh Music's website gives the full programme details, as well as the various annual festivals it organises in this idyllic Suffolk setting.