Featuring no fewer than six Faber composers, this summer’s Aldeburgh Festival looks set to be particuarly vibrant and stimulating. George Benjamin will be Artist-in-Residence, appearing as conductor, pianist and curator in what will be the largest UK retrospective of his work since the Southbank Centre’s ‘Jubilation’ festival in 2012.
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (with whom Benjamin worked closely on the premiere of Written on Skin) will feature prominently; Francois-Xavier Roth conducts them in the Three Inventions for Chamber Orchestra whilst Benjamin himself will join them and soprano Claire Booth for his A Mind of Winter and the first performance of Beautiful Caged Thing, a new work by Faber Music’s most recent signing, Tom Coult. Benjamin will also conduct the London Sinfonietta in a programme which includes At First Light alongside Oliver Knussen’s Songs Without Voices. Visiones after Goya, a new clarinet trio by Martin Suckling will be unveiled by the stellar line up of Mark Simpson, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Tamara Stefanovich, whilst audiences will also be offered the opportunity to hear violinist Isabelle Faust’s account of Benjamin’s exquisite Three Miniatures and Louis Lortie in the captivating intricacies of the six canonic preludes for piano, Shadowlines.
Other highlights include mezzo-soprano Christine Rice joining Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen for a performance of Britten’s Phaedra and the Doric Quartet in Thomas Adès’ second string quartet The Four Quarters.
Full details of the Aldeburgh Festival can be found here