Aldeburgh Festival the Aldeburgh Festival changed its name to Aldeburgh Music in 2006. Thomas Adès was succeeded as Artistic Director of the Festival by Pierre-Laurent Aimard in 2009. In 2009, a suite of new spaces at Snape Maltings, including the Hoffmann Building's Britten Studio and the Jerwood Kiln Studio, was opened with the premiere performance of Harrison Birtwistle's "The Corridor (opera)". The 2012 Festival had Oliver Knussen as Artist in Residence, and the typically eclectic programme included new productions by Netia Jones of Knussen's "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Higglety Pigglety Pop!", a concert series exploring the work of Helmut Lachenmann,
Snape Maltings Mstislav Rostropovich, and young stars in the making such as Elisabeth Söderström, Murray Perahia and Julian Bream. At first the Festival used local halls and churches but in 1967, Britten and Pears created a permanent home at Snape, 5 miles from Aldeburgh, by converting the Victorian maltings into an 832-seat venue. Within five years Britten and Pears had reclaimed more buildings on the site to establish a centre for talented young musicians. In 2006 Aldeburgh Music purchased a 999-year lease of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, investing around £14 million in new studios and rehearsal spaces which came into use