Page 293 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

The Aldeburgh Festival is thankfully still flying high 75 years on. It remains one of the
glories of the British musical year. Unlike some other festivals (including Bath and
Cheltenham) which reportedly have had to pull their horns in a bit for financial reasons,
Aldeburgh is still offering programmes of the highest international quality but, even so, is not
immune to today’s challenges. Some performers were perhaps lucky to have survived
funding crises over the last twelve months: the BBC Singers faced the axe but were reprieved
whilst the Britten Sinfonia lost vital support. The arts need – and get – support from public
funds (notably in Aldeburgh’s case from the Arts Council England) and private ones alike but
both are increasingly uncertain. The role of the BBC cannot be underestimated: without its
direct support (for orchestras and young musician programmes) and indirect support via
broadcast concerts, classical music in Britain would be less rich and less accessible. And
support is not all one-way: Aldeburgh and the Britten Pears Foundation, as well as gaining it
themselves, also disburse it in the form of music education and regional outreach to schools.

But this year has seen a disturbing new challenge to the viability of public arts events in
Britain. The effect of social media-based protests against the alleged investment priorities of
Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford has led to that firm’s withdrawal from sponsorship of key
literary festivals across the country. In certain cases, they were the main sponsors and their
decision to stand back will limit what the organisers can afford to do and may risk the
survival of some. These developments show how fragile arts funding across Britain can be.
Music festivals have not – as of yet – been affected significantly by similar protest initiatives
but the warning signs are there.

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