Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Yamaha CFX at the 2016 Aldeburgh Festival

For the second consecutive year, festival Artistic Director Pierre- Laurent Aimard specified Yamaha’s flagship CFX concert grand piano for a variety and varied combination of musical performances and masterclasses.
 
Inspired by the vast skies and breath-taking coastal scenery of the Suffolk coast the Aldeburgh Festival was founded in 1948 by the composer Benjamin Britten, his collaborators that seminal year were the singer Peter Pears and writer Eric Crozier.
 
The philosophy of the Festival was to bring together world class and pioneering artistic performances with education and provide an internationally significant platform for young artists. There is no question that Britten’s ambition has exceeded all expectations and more. The Festival is now acknowledged as offering one of the world’s most exciting and innovative programmes.
 
This year was no exception, with Yamaha’s CFX playing a prominent role throughout. The centrepiece of the festival was the Catalogue d’Oiseaux project, a day that brought Messiaen’s grand vision of birdsong and nature to life as never before.
 
From sunrise to sunset, with panoramic views of the Alde Estuary combining with the stunning backdrop of the Suffolk countryside Pierre - Laurent started his four concert journey through the entire Catalogue d’Oiseaux project.
 
This unique moment in time was complemented throughout the festival by a huge variety of events, films and exhibitions from the Grade 1 challenge, a programme aimed at inspiring new players to the piano to John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Yamaha artist Kit Downes & Tom Challenger plus much more.
  
Since its inception in 1948 the festival has attracted international stars including Menuhin, Yamaha artist Sviatoslav Richter and Rostropovich,  with the early days of the festival seeing performances and events spread throughout local halls and churches.
 
 Then, in 1967 Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears created a permanent home at nearby Snape by converting a Victorian maltings into a 832 seat venue, and within 5 years further buildings were added, creating an acclaimed world class facility for visiting artists and talented young musicians alike.
 
Yamaha comment “ We are thrilled that again Pierre- Laurent Aimard has chosen our brilliant CFX for this unique festival, this is yet another important moment in the journey of CFX taking in the very best concert stages, studios and of course artists".

http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/