A Set of Sixteen Aldeburgh Festival Programmes (Ronald Blythe Interest)

From the library of Ronald Blythe.

A set of sixteen programmes produced to accompany the Aldeburgh Festival. Held annually to this day, The Aldeburgh Festival was co-founded in 1948 by composer Benjamin Britten, tenor Peter Pears, and librettist/producer Eric Crozier. It began as a way to provide a performance base for the English Opera Group, which they had also co-founded, but quickly expanded to encompass a wider range of artistic expressions including poetry, literature, drama, lectures, and art exhibitions.

These copies were previously owned by the writer Ronald Blythe, who for three years worked for Benjamin Britten in the late 1950s. Many include his neat ownership inscription. The set includes the following programmes:

1949 (inscribed), 1950, 1951 (inscribed), 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 (inscribed), 1957, 1958 (inscribed) 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972 (inscribed) 1979 (inscribed), 1980 (inscribed) 1988

All programmes are in very good condition with minimal wear. Please note that the John Piper images in the 1949 programme have been removed. Condition reports of specific volumes are available on request.