From The Red House

Tune in to hear about Shankar’s extraordinary life and utter dedication to musicianship, captured vividly in this beautiful book. Also discussed is how Shankar’s life briefly, but significantly, intersected with Britten’s at various times. Plus, what our podcasters have been listening to lately.

Tune in for a wide-ranging conversation about the challenges of the lockdown, the thrill of live performance, getting back to vocal fitness, and the fascinating process of commissioning and co-creating new pieces. Plus, the eclectic range of pieces are contributors have been listening to recently. To listen to the pieces featured, visit our 'From The Red House' Spotify playlist: https://spoti.fi/2...

Tune in for a fascinating discussion (recorded down the line from a café in Antwerp!), and hear about what Matthew has been listening to during lockdown. Please note, the sound quality is a little patchy, due to a somewhat intermittent connection. 

Roger Wright (Chief Executive), Sarah Bardwell (Executive Director) and Lucy Walker (Head, Public Programming) discuss the merger of Snape Maltings and Britten-Pears Foundation back in April, the shared aims and vision of this new organisation, and the challenges and experiences of working together during Covid-19. Plus, the listening choices of all our podcasters. 

Sarah has written, directed and performed in two Aldeburgh Festival Pumphouse shows over the last two years: Middagh Street (2018), a glorious evocation of Britten and Pears' months in a riotously bohemian house-share in 1940s; and Barlines (2019), an account of Michael Tippett's formative time spent in Wormwood Scrubs in 1943. Tune in for a conversation about biography and fiction, where the two...

Tune in to hear about the origins of the Friday Afternoons project, its remarkable legacy, setting words to music (in this case, the brilliant poetry of Michael Rosen), how to write for childrens’ voices, and the joys and challenges of unusual commissions! Plus, find out what our podcasters have been listening to this week.

Find out about the fascinating and diverse Red House collections, the human stories they contain, how we talk about them (in person and in lockdown), and what makes archivists' blood pressure rise. Conversational byways lead to Magnus Pyke, roller-skates, the history of shopping, and the Windmill Theatre, as well as unusual places to store archives. Just don't call them 'dusty'. And as usual, find...

Tune in for a discussion ranging across all matters musical, including concert-going, how to find a way into classical music, football matches, Disney films, adverts, and our participants’ musical blind spots. Plus, what both have been listening to lately.

Tune in for a discussion about the fascinating art of life writing: how you go about beginning a biography, how invested you get in the subject, the changing fashions in life writing, and exciting news about Oliver’s forthcoming publications. Also, find out what Lucy and Oliver have been listening to lately.  Topics include: biography, life writing, classical music, Michael Tippett, Noël Coward an...

Topics include: the work of LGBT+ History Month and this year’s theme; the context of Britten and Pears’ relationship at a time when homosexuality was illegal, and how we tell their story at The Red House; the 2017 Red House exhibition Queer Talk; how attitudes to LGBT+ lives have changed, but also the challenges that still remain. Plus, what our contributors have been listening to lately. To find...

Topics include: the background to the composer Benjamin Britten, his relationship with the tenor Peter Pears, their lives together at The Red House, and what visitors can experience when they come to the house. Also discussed is how ‘difficult’ some people find Britten’s music, and suggestions of how to get to know it. Plus, what our contributors have been listening to lately. To find out more, vi...