What's On

A reading of Chekhov A Visit to Friends, the short story that inspired this year's Aldeburgh Festival Opera, is read aloud in the enchanting woodland setting of Thorington Theatre. Dates: Fri, 13 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: A Visit to Friends I Before the performance of A Visit to Friends, a fascinating discussion between composer Colin Matthews, librettist William Boyd, director Rachael Hewer, and designer Leanne Vandenbussche. Dates: Fri, 13 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Aldeburgh Festival Opera: A Visit to Friends I A landmark moment for the Aldeburgh Festival: the world premiere of Colin Matthews and William Boyd's first opera, based on an intriguing Chekhov short story. Dates: Fri, 13 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Gildas Quartet: Beethoven and Colin Matthews Favourite works by Beethoven and Bridge plus the world premiere of a new work by Colin Matthews written especially for this wonderful group. Dates: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: A Visit to Friends II Before the performance of A Visit to Friends, a fascinating discussion between composer Colin Matthews, librettist William Boyd, director Rachael Hewer, and designer Leanne Vandenbussche. Dates: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Aldeburgh Festival Opera: A Visit to Friends II A second opportunity to see this landmark moment for the Aldeburgh Festival: the world premiere of Colin Matthews and William Boyd's first opera, based on an intriguing Chekhov short story. Dates: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
EXAUDI: Book of Flames and Shadows Blythburgh Church at sunset plays host to another iconic Festival happening: the first live performance of this extraordinary programme in which the spoken word transforms into song. Dates: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Ruby Colley and EXAUDI: Hello Halo Composer, violinist and sound artist Ruby Colley shares her new vocal work Hello Halo performed with Exaudi, a leading vocal ensemble for new music. This composition has been developed alongside Ruby’s brother, Paul Colley, who is neurodivergent and has high support needs. Dates: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Fu and Betts-Dean: Solitude with Schubert Solitude with Schubert is a documentary following the journey of pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu and mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean as they explore Schubert’s music Dates: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: Nocturne and Folk Three leading artists centrally involved in this evening's concert and in the Aldeburgh Festival discuss their works and collaboration. Dates: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Knussen Chamber Orchestra: Nocturne and Folk The beating heart of the Festival: Allan Clayton singing Britten's Nocturne, dazzling artists on stage, and a major new commission from featured musician Helen Grime. Dates: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Creative Discussion: Speak of the North An important discussion about the importance and impact of long-term artist development, with reference to the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme and the Young Classical Artists Trust. Dates: Mon, 16 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Mishka Rushdie Momen: Darknesse Visible An entrancing programme from this "most thoughful and sensitive" of pianists explores darkness and glimpses of light through music old and new – including the Kidane Etudes inspired by a Kandinsky painting. Dates: Mon, 16 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Discussion: Supporting the Next Generation An important discussion about the importance and impact of long-term artist development, with reference to the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme and the Young Classical Artists Trust. Dates: Mon, 16 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Chamber Superstars: Schubert and Coleridge-Taylor Over four decades, the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) has supported and launched the careers of outstanding young musicians. This concert celebrates the 40th anniversary of its important work and brings together current and former YCAT Artists in some major chamber works. Dates: Mon, 16 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Festival Walk I: Tunstall Forest with Zoe Gilbert A special Festival Walk in the company of author Zoe Gilbert, getting creative with words among the woods. Dates: Tue, 17 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
The Idea of North: Grieg, Grainger and Gavin Higgins A moving combination of music and words that evoke the North, curated by leading chamber musicians, combining poignant Grieg, British folksongs, and a major new song cycle from award-winning composer Gavin Higgins. Dates: Tue, 17 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
BBC Concert Orchestra: Northern Lights Midnight sun, verdant landscapes, and folksong at its freshest: the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Iceland Philharmonic Choir celebrate midsummer Nordic-style. Dates: Tue, 17 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Bevan and Wigglesworth: Ravel and Betsy Jolas This intimate chamber recital performed by Sophie Bevan, Ryan Wigglesworth and members of the Knussen Chamber Orchestra features Ravel's ravishing settings of Mallarmé poetry and spotlights the wonderful works of Betsy Jolas. Dates: Wed, 18 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Festival Masterclass I: String Quartets Recent alumni of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme work with the renowned Doric String Quartet. Dates: Wed, 18 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: Bach's Lost Passion Bill Barclay and Malcolm Bruno discuss this evening's UK premiere of the extraordinary 'new' Bach Passion Dates: Wed, 18 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Dunedin Consort: Bach's Markus Passion The UK premiere of 'a new Bach masterpiece', produced by Bill Barclay's Concert Theatre Works and brought to life by the Dunedin Consort with John Butt. Dates: Wed, 18 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
FILM: Tele-Marteau Marking Boulez’s centenary and in advance of the Monday 23 June performance of his “Le Marteau sans maître”, a screening of a fascinating 1968 documentary about the work featuring Boulez himself, plus an appreciation of director Barrie Gavin (1935–2024). Dates: Thu, 19 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Doric String Quartet: Beethoven and Purcell With their 'luminous beauty of sound', the Dorics return to the Aldeburgh Festival for a combination of early and late Beethoven with the Fantasias of Purcell. Dates: Thu, 19 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Edward Gardner and RAM SO: The Inextinguishable Edward Gardner and Allan Clayton join forces for Turnage's Refugee - devastating poetry set to extraordinary music - alongside, poignantly, the Nielsen symphony that evokes 'the elemental will to live'. Dates: Thu, 19 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Ensemble Renard: Boulez and Berio Centenary celebrations of Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio with this splendid wind quintet, whose inventive programme also contains a new commission and Salonen's memorial to Berio himself. Dates: Fri, 20 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
New Music Now In the finest Aldeburgh Festival tradition, this recital features six first performances of exciting new works by Young Artist composers, alongside music by their composition tutors Helen Grime, Colin Matthews, and Mark-Anthony Turnage Dates: Fri, 20 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: Purcell's King Arthur A fascinating insight into the exceptional musicianship and research that makes up Gabrieli's unrivalled production of King Arthur, with artistic director Paul McCreesh. Dates: Fri, 20 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Gabrieli Consort & Players: Purcell's King Arthur Early music gets no better than this: the wonderful Gabrieli Consort & Players' acclaimed interpretation of Purcell's dramatic masterpiece about the conflict between King Arthur's Britons and the heathen Saxon invaders. Dates: Fri, 20 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Solstice Yoga We welcome you to the beautiful Red House gardens for a calm and reflective Aldeburgh Festival moment. Join us for a tranquil early-morning yoga session to celebrate the summer solstice. Dates: Sat, 21 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Dunedin Consort: Lamentations New and old combine in this special programme with the masterful Allan Clayton: stirring Bach, heartrending Zelenka, and new music by Caroline Shaw and Tom Coult. Dates: Sat, 21 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: BBC Symphony Orchestra I An insightful discussion of tonight's violin concerto between composer Helen Grime and soloist Leila Josefowicz Dates: Sat, 21 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
BBC Symphony Orchestra I Featured Musician Leila Josefowicz plays Helen Grime's Violin Concerto and the sensational Anu Komsi sings Strauss' Four Last Songs – music that's made for a Saturday night out at the Aldeburgh Festival. Dates: Sat, 21 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Juliet Fraser: Lament Pioneering soprano Juliet Fraser explores the timeless vocalisation that is the lament, a 'ritual of letting go', combining ancient and new music and words. Dates: Sat, 21 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
To Dieter: A Tribute to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau A special recital marking the legendary tenor's centenary, created and performed by two of today's leading song exponents. Dates: Sun, 22 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance talk: BBC Symphony Orchestra II A fascinating discussion between composer Brian Elias, the soloist in his horn concerto Ben Goldscheider, and star conductor Sakari Oramo. Dates: Sun, 22 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
BBC Symphony Orchestra II Sakari Oramo directs scintillating forces in a divine setting by Britten of Auden poetry; its war-torn angst is dissolved in the triumphant resolution of Sibelius' grand Fifth Symphony. Dates: Sun, 22 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Sam Lee: Solstice Folk As the sun sets on the solstice weekend, the Mercury-nominated folksong artist brings a special set to the magical setting of the forested amphitheatre at Thorington. Dates: Sun, 22 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Festival Masterclass II: German Lieder Leading artists Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu bring insight and inspiration to their coaching of two emerging song duos. Dates: Mon, 23 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Les Marteaux: Boulez at 100 A continuing celebration of the centenary of Pierre Boulez, a towering figure of the last century, with some of today's most innovative artists. Dates: Mon, 23 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Mélodies and Lieder Wonderful French and German song performed by Britten Pears Young Artists whose artistry is shaped in Snape. Dates: Tue, 24 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Heath and Fibonacci: Beethoven, Britten and Grime The Heath and Fibonacci quartets present a beautiful combination of Britten and Beethoven alongside the unique opportunity to hear Helen Grime's two distinctive string quartets side by side. Dates: Tue, 24 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Fischer-Dieskau: Singer, Hero, Mentor A fascinating illustrated discussion of the great baritone Fischer-Dieskau, his close association with the Aldeburgh Festival, and his mentoring of today's celebrated baritone Benjamin Appl. Dates: Tue, 24 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Komsi and Oramo: Kafka-Fragments A one-off Festival treat: two of the world's foremost artists, soprano Anu Komsi and violinist Sakari Oramo, perform Kurtág's seminal work. Dates: Tue, 24 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Festival Walk II: Shotley Peninsula This walk explores the rich naval history, marshes and mudflats of the area flanked by the Stour and Orwell estuaries, and includes lunch and a visit to the reputed burial place of Anne Boleyn's heart. Dates: Wed, 25 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Carducci Quartet: Beethoven, Shostakovich and Kidane A beautifully contrasting programme of Beethoven's 'Serioso', dramatic Shostakovich and our newly commissioned quartet from Featured Artist Daniel Kidane. Dates: Wed, 25 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Leila Josefowicz with Huw and Paul Watkins The superstar violinist is joined by long-term collaborators, brothers Huw and Paul Watkins, for a stellar chamber concert that includes the premiere of Colin Matthews' new piece, Paraphrases, written especially for her. Dates: Wed, 25 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Discussion: The Psychology of Performance Violinist Leila Josefowicz is at the heart of this discussion of some of the less tangible and most fascinating aspects of top-level performance. Dates: Thu, 26 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Remembering Jennifer Vyvyan Past, present and future intertwine in folksong, opera and oratorio as Sophie Bevan, Michael White and Ryan Wigglesworth mark the centenary of Jennifer Vyvyan, a soprano indelibly etched in Aldeburgh Festival history. Dates: Thu, 26 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
BBC Singers: Britten and Poulenc One of the world's finest choirs performs sublime Palestrina and a feast of Britten, plus a fascinating outing of Daniel Kidane's lockdown piece. Dates: Thu, 26 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Songs of Illumination A charming selection of Britten folksongs and cycles alongside Imogen Holst and Daniel Kidane. Dates: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Alisa Weilerstein: Cello Recital The internationally acclaimed cellist combines a divine Bach suite with expressive Kodály and a work by Joan Tower written especially for her. Dates: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: Aloud Our Festival Featured Musician Daniel Kidane gives his insights on his works within the Festival including tonight's violin concerto Aloud. Dates: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Kirill Karabits and RCM Symphony Orchestra A centrepiece of Daniel Kidane's presence in the Festival: the charismatic Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral features in Kidane's major work Aloud, plus we hear Britten's evocative Sea Interludes and Walton's imposing First Symphony. Dates: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Pre-performance Talk: On Wenlock Edge Two leading artists on the world stage, Alan clayton and Antonio Pappano, share insights and conversation on the topic of tonight's programme and their craft as chamber musicians. Dates: Sat, 28 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Clayton and Pappano: On Wenlock Edge Chamber music with two of the world's greatest artists: Allan Clayton and Antonio Pappano join forces for Britten's Michaelangelo Sonnets – plus, with LSO principals, Vaughan Williams' seminal song cycle and Elgar's rhapsodic Piano Quintet. Dates: Sat, 28 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Around Britten in Brass The launch of the new album from Onyx Brass, 'the classiest brass ensemble in Britain', featuring first performances of Britten and Imogen Holst among a varied and colourful programme of music from the last 100 years Dates: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Hesse Lecture: Ali Smith Leading author, playwright, academic, and journalist Ali Smith delivers this year's Hesse Lecture, taking as her topic the Festival theme: dissolved in sound. Dates: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
LSO and Pappano: Fantastique! A stunning climax to this year's Festival: the world premiere of Colin Matthews' orchestration of Debussy's Images plus Berlioz's epic masterpiece Symphonie fantastique. Dates: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information
Festival Book 2025
Purchase a voucher to be exchange for your Aldeburgh Festival programme book – the perfect companion to your festival experience. Dates: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 Booking and More Information

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