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The brochure for the first Bath Assembly held from April 21 to May 1,
1948 (kindly lent by Glyndebourne Festival Opera). |
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Morley Pooley - otherwise known as Monty or AMP - began covering the
Bath Festival for The Bath Chronicle in 1949. He retired from
the paper's staff as news editor in 1969, but continued to contribute
his musical columns until 1983. He died in 1994. Without his enormous
output, enthusiasm for music and words, and erudite opinions, this
book would have been both thinner and poorer. Thank you Monty. |
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A rare informal picture of Yehudi Menuhin with his children, taken at
the Bath May Festival in 1955. |
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Yehudi Menuhin in discussion with Gioconda de Vita. The pair gave a
duo recital at the Guildhall in 1955. |
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Princess Margaret visited the festival in 1962 with her husband
Viscount Snowdon. During her visit she took part in `La Serenissima'. |
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`La Serenissima', a Venetian carnival, was the social highlight of the
1962 festival and attracted support from the city of Venice. Depicted
is work in progress on the superstructure of one of the barges.
Barbara Robertson, the brains behind the party and who visited Venice
to undertake research for the event, is second from left. |
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Yehudi Menuhin, Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev on the stage of the
Theatre Royal on June 9, 1964, after a specially choreographed
performance of Bartok's Divertimento. Hours earlier Fonteyn had
heard of her husband's critical condition after an assassination
attempt in Panama, but insisted that the show must go on. |
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Fonteyn and Nureyev dancing, with Menuhin playing in the wings. |
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A special dais containing a festival flame was built for the 1965
festival. In the background, trumpeters serenade the formal opening. |
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Captain Freddie and Mrs Ruth Hayden in full dress for the `Battle of
Agincourt', the social highlight of the 1965 festival. Throughout the
sixties, costume parties, often continuing until dawn, attracted
hundreds of people and raised large sums to support the festival. (Reprinted
by kind permission of Mrs Ruth Hayden) |
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Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha rehearsing at the Lansdown
Grove Hotel in 1966. It was the first time that a western violinist
had appeared on stage with Indian musicians, and Menuhin performed in
the lotus (crossed-leg) position. |
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Above: Yehudi Menuhin rehearsing the Bath Festival Orchestra
with the harpist Marisa Robles at the Assembly Rooms in 1967. |
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In the eyes of many Johnny Dankworth was as important to the festivals
of the sixties as Menuhin. Although a mainstay of the festival
programme for many years, jazz gradually slipped in profile and did
not return until the 1980s. |
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The annual Roman Rendezvous was the only time in the year when
residents could swim in the city's historic baths. It originated from
the 1961 `Roman Orgy' which was denounced by Yehudi Menuhin as being
`at odds' with his view of how the festival should be. |
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Sir Michael Tippett introduced many younger artists to the Bath
Festival. In this picture he is talking with Bernard Gregor-Smith and
Peter Cropper of the Lindsay Quartet in 1971. |
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Sir Michael Tippett rehearses soloists Pamela Bowden, Clifford Grant
and Ronald Dowd at the Guildhall in preparation for a memorable
performance of the composer's oratorio A Child of Our Time at
Wells Cathedral in 1968. The following year Tippett became joint
artistic director before becoming sole director in 1970. |
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Sir Michael Tippett with the programme for the 1974 festival, the last
of five programmed solely by the composer who lived near Corsham,
Wilts. He remains the only artistic director to have left entirely
voluntarily. |
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Sir Michael Tippett rarely conducted at the Bath Festival, but when he
did his performances were inspiring. (Reprinted by kind permission
of B&NES Record Office.) |
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Sir William Glock was artistic director of the Bath Festival for ten
festivals from 1975 - 1984 during which time the present length - two
weeks and three weekends - was established. |
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William Mann, festival director in 1985. He was ousted before his
first festival had taken place. |
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Amelia Freedman, founder of the Nash Enemble, who were regular
visitors to the festival under Sir William Glock's regime. She became
artistic director in 1986 and now directs the Mozartfest. |
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The Burning Angel was intended as an exciting work of art on opening
night in 1995, but there was controversy when some Christian groups
accused the festival of blasphemy. The "fire sculpture" went
ahead, although it caused a scare when the burning head toppled to the
ground and stopped just short of the crowds of spectators. (Photo
courtesy of Bath Festivals Trust) |
