Edinburgh International Festival 2015 brochure

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EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2015 7–31 AUGUST

CONTENTS 01 Festival Supporters 04 Welcome to the Festival 05 Opening event | The Harmonium Project 07 Opera 12 Music theatre 13 Theatre 23 Dance 31 Music 32 The Hub Sessions 36 The Usher Hall Concerts 47 Family Concert 48 Virgin Money Fireworks Concert 49 The Queen’s Hall Series 57 Beethoven Piano Sonatas 59 Festival Portraits 61 Festival Insights 64 Booking information 66 Access 67 Festival City 69 Diary

Photo Thomas Aurin

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WELCOME

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FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FESTIVAL 2015 SUPPORTERS The core investment that the Edinburgh International Festival receives from the City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Scotland plays a critical role in ensuring our stability and success.

Crucial support from other public sector bodies, charitable funds, the corporate sector, international partners and agencies, trusts and foundations and our individual benefactors, patrons and friends is also vitally important in enabling us to maintain the Festival’s scale and quality. We are grateful to all these organisations and individuals, who make the Festival possible.

Festival Partners

Automotive Partner

Official Catering Partner

Broadcast Partner

Production Sponsor

City Dressing Partner

Venue Partner

Production Sponsor

Festival Partner

Document Solutions Partner

Hotel Partner

Official Retail Partner

Grants

Hotel Partner

Hosting & Network Services Partner

Hotel Partner

Production Sponsor

Festival Partner

Production Sponsor

Project Grants University Partner

Principal Supporters

Dunard Fund LĂŠan Scully EIF Fund

Fireworks Concert Partner

Media Partners

MAGAZINE

Festival Partner

Hotel Partner

FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS Principal Donors American Friends of the Edinburgh International Festival The Director’s Circle Edinburgh International Festival Benefactors Edinburgh International Festival Commissioning Fund Edinburgh International Festival Education Fund Edinburgh International Festival Endowment Fund Edinburgh International Festival Friends and Patrons Edinburgh International Festival Opera Development Fund

Corporate Associates A.G. Barr p.l.c.

Alba Water Champagne Taittinger Cullen Property Dimensions (Scotland) Ltd HEINEKEN Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Edinburgh Maclay Murray & Spens LLP Omni Centre Edinburgh Pickering’s Gin Royal Society of Edinburgh The Rutland Hotel and Apartments Scottish Beverage Services Springbank Distillers Ltd Villa Maria

International Partners and Agencies Australian High Commission to the United Kingdom Canada Council for the Arts Canadian High Commission to the United Kingdom Conseil des arts et des lettres Québec Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Edinburgh Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Edinburgh Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh Consulate of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Edinburgh

Culture Ireland The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom The Embassy of the United States of America, London The Government of Flanders Institut français d’Ecosse The Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh The Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China Norwegian Consulate General Edinburgh Pro Helvetia Québec Government Office, London The Romanian Cultural Institute Swiss Cultural Fund UK Taipei Representative Office in the UK, Edinburgh Office The United States Consulate General, Edinburgh

Trusts and Foundations The Bacher Trust The Binks Trust The John S Cohen Foundation Cruden Foundation Limited The Peter Diamand Trust The Evelyn Drysdale Charitable Trust Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust The Inches Carr Trust Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation The Morton Charitable Trust The Negaunee Foundation The Pirie Rankin Charitable Trust Risk Charitable Fund The Russell Trust The Stevenston Charitable Trust The Sym Charitable Trust

Benefactors and Patrons Thank you to the following individuals for their support of Festival 2015.

Legacy Mr Douglas Wight

Director’s Fund James and Morag Anderson Sir Ewan and Lady Brown

Benefactor Geoff and Mary Ball Sir Gerald and Lady Elliot Jo and Alison Elliot Joscelyn Fox Frank Hitchman Niall and Carol Lothian Donald and Louise MacDonald Anne McFarlane David McLellan Jean and Roger Miller Mairi Rankin Michael Shipley and Philip Rudge Keith and Andrea Skeoch Jim and Isobel Stretton Andrew and Becky Swanston John-Paul and Joanna Temperley Susie Thomson Claire and Mark Urquhart Mr Hedley G Wright Zachs-Adam Family

Platinum Reserve J Attias Richard Burns Bridget and John Macaskill Keith M Miller CBE Aileen and Stephen Nesbitt Charles Smith

Platinum Supporter Roger and Angela Allen William and Elizabeth Berry Neil and Karin Bowman Katie Bradford Carola Bronte-Stewart Chris Carter and Stuart Donachie The Rt Hon Lord Clarke Lord and Lady Coulsfield Tom and Alison Cunningham

John Dale Sue and Andy Doig Mr and Mrs Ted W Frison Gillian Gaines Celia F Goodhew Raymond and Anita Green George Gwilt David and Judith Halkerston Kenneth Harrold Shields and Carol Henderson André and Rosalie Hoffmann J Douglas Home Dr Jean Horton Peter Horvath and Barnett Serchuk Sir Brian and Lady Ivory Alan M Johnston Fred and Ann Johnston Paul and Christine Jones Mr and Mrs Roddy Jones Prof Ludmilla Jordanova David and Brenda Lamb Tari and Brian Lang Norman and Christine Lessels Alan Macfarlane Chris and Gill Masters Duncan and Una McGhie David Milne and Liz Sharpe Patricia and Alex Neish Nick and Julie Parker Tanya and David Parker Lady Potter AC Donald and Brenda Rennie Janine Rensch Sir Duncan Rice and Lady Rice Andrew and Carolyn Richmond George Ritchie John D Ritchie Ross Roberts Fiona and Ian Russell Dr and Mrs George Sypert Robin and Sheila Wight Mark and Ulrike Wilson Ruth Woodburn Neil and Philippa Woodcock Mrs Irené M Young And others who prefer to remain anonymous

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MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE FESTIVAL Membership starts at just £60.

Show your support by joining online today.

Seven | Ballett am Rhein Supported by Geoff and Mary Ball Photo Gert Weigelt

Friends receive a host of benefits to enhance your Festival experience including: — 9 days of priority booking ahead of tickets going on sale to the general public — Ticket discounts of up to 50% on a range of Festival performances from mid July — Access to our exclusive year round events programme, including backstage tours, talks with artists, trips across the UK and overseas, plus our regular coffee mornings — Year round 20% discount at Cafe Hub — Regular mailings including newsletters, ebulletins and the Festival brochure To join call 0131 473 2065 or visit eif.co.uk/join-us today to find out more.

WELCOME TO THE FESTIVAL

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AN ACCESSIBLE FESTIVAL As official broadcast partner, BBC Radio 3 brings the Festival to those who would otherwise miss out. Through live and recorded concerts, and entertaining and insightful presentation, the Edinburgh International Festival can be enjoyed throughout the UK and across the world. Thanks to this partnership, you can hear 15 live or recorded broadcasts from our series of morning recitals from The Queen’s Hall (p49–56 for details) and two recorded concerts from our season at the Usher Hall (p36–46).

All BBC Radio 3 recordings are also available, for 30 days after broadcast, on its website bbc.co.uk/radio3. So wherever you are, hear the world’s greatest classical musicians at this year’s Festival on BBC Radio 3.

ARTIST CONVERSATIONS A brand new series with top Festival artists interviewed in front of a live audience and streamed across the world through our partnership with BBC Arts Online. Join us on Twitter for exclusive announcements, opportunities to get involved and most especially access to tickets for the live recordings in Edinburgh.

Find out more at eif.co.uk/artistsconversations Supported by

Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL CHORUS CELEBRATES ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY This year, we acknowledge the remarkable achievements of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus as we celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Chorus is made up of amateur singers who, collectively, have been delivering world class performances for half a century and will continue to do so throughout this year’s Festival. 2015 represents a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the fantastic contribution the Chorus makes to the Festival. To find out more about the Chorus and how you could take part visit eif.co.uk/chorus 50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

Our goal is to make the Festival accessible to as many people as possible. All of our performances are wheelchair accessible and assistance animals are welcome at all our venues. A detailed Access Guide is available on request and our Festival 2015 brochure and Access Guide are also available in large print, audio and Braille formats. You can download them as audio files or as a PDF at eif.co.uk/access. If you cannot find the information you require please contact us directly on +44 (0)131 473 2089 or access@eif.co.uk and we will be happy to assist.

For accessible performance listings and booking information see page 66 and look out for the icons below on the event pages.

Audio Described

Captioned performance

Touch Tour

Speech-to-Text Reported

British Sign Language

DISCOVER MORE ONLINE The Festival’s website eif.co.uk is an essential way to discover more about this year’s Festival programme and its artists. With our digital media partner Sinfini Music we bring you closer to the artists and music through films, playlists, podcasts, cartoons, guides and competitions both at eif.co.uk and at sinfinimusic.com.

Regularly updated with films, music, information and insights into our performers, eif.co.uk has all you need to help plan your days at Festival 2015. Visit eif.co.uk today.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Excited about the artists coming to this year’s Festival, already booked your tickets and Edinburgh-bound this August, or want to tell the world what you thought about our shows? Then join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, posting your photos and comments for Festival friends to share.

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Subscribe to our channel

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OPENING EVENT

THE HARMONIUM PROJECT 59 PRODUCTIONS / ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA / EDINBURGH FESTIVAL CHORUS 59 Productions Royal Scottish National Orchestra Peter Oundjian Conductor Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master Fri 7 Aug 10.30pm, Festival Square | Free (standing only) | 35mins eif.co.uk/harmonium In partnership with the College of Humanities and Social Science

Supported by

50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

The Harmonium Project is a free outdoor event marking the opening of the 2015 Festival and the 50th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Created by 59 Productions, the event combines John Adams’s mesmerising choral work Harmonium with a series of spectacular animations, projected onto the outside of the Usher Hall, with audiences gathering on Festival Square to view the transformation of this much loved Festival venue.

Working with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics and Edinburgh College of Art, the project examines the effects singing has on both the performer and the listener.

59 Productions combines technology and art to tell amazing stories.

In recent years it has created the video design for the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Digital Revolution exhibition at the Barbican, London, and the Lighting of the Sydney Opera House sails for the Vivid Live festival.

A recording of Harmonium forms the soundtrack to this spectacular event, performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus conducted by Peter Oundjian.

Image 59 Productions

OPENING EVENT 6

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OPERA

THE MAGIC FLUTE (DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE)

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

KOMISCHE OPER BERLIN / BARRIE KOSKY / 1927 Komische Oper Berlin Directed by Barrie Kosky Kristiina Poska Musical direction Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky Staging Paul Barritt Animations Concept by 1927 (Suzanne Andrade and Paul Barritt) and Barrie Kosky Pamina Maureen McKay*, Adela Zaharia† Tamino Allan Clayton*, Jussi Myllys† Queen of the Night Olga Pudova*, Beate Ritter† Sarastro Dimitry Ivashchenko*, Bogdan Talos† Papageno Dominik Köninger*, Tom Erik Lie† Papagena Julia Giebel Monostatos Peter Renz*, Ivan Turšić† 1st Lady Nina Bernsteiner*, Mirka Wagner† 2nd Lady Theresa Kronthaler*, Karolina Gumos† 3rd Lady Ezgi Kutlu*, Nadine Weissmann† *27 & 29 Aug | † 28 & 30 Aug Sung in German with English supertitles

Thu 27, Fri 28, Sun 30 Aug 7.15pm; Sat 29 Aug 5pm, Festival Theatre | 2hrs 40mins approx £76 £68 £59 £46 £34 £26 £18 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/magicflute Supported by

Dunard Fund

Mozart’s masterful comedy is richly reimagined in a boundary-busting production created by director Barrie Kosky and British theatre group 1927, blending animated film and live action in a spectacular kaleidoscope of 1920s silent movies, Weimar cabaret, the dark humour of Edward Gorey and German expressionism.

Immense, three-storey spiders, Nosferatu and Buster Keaton, flappers and demons, butterflies and wolves – this wildly inventive The Magic Flute is like no other.

Since arriving at the Komische Oper in 2012 Barrie Kosky has presided over a period of unprecedented success with the opera journal Opernwelt calling the Komische ‘Opera House of the Year’ in 2013 and the International Opera Awards naming Kosky ‘Director of the Year’ in 2014.

Founded in 2005 by animator and illustrator Paul Barritt, and writer and performer Suzanne Andrade, 1927 has won critical and popular acclaim with works such as Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and The Animals and Children Took to the Streets.

‘a perfect combination of all the things worth loving: silent movies, Weimar cabaret, David Lynch and the Brothers Grimm’ THE GUARDIAN

Photo  Iko Freese / drama-berlin.de

OPERA 8

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OPERA

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (LE NOZZE DI FIGARO)

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA / IVÁN FISCHER Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer Conductor Veronika Vámos Choreographer Figaro Hanno Müller-Brachmann | Susanna Ekaterina Siurina | Count Markus Werba | Countess Miah Persson | Cherubino Rachel Frenkel | Marcellina Marie McLaughlin | Bartolo Robert Lloyd | Basilio / Don Curzio Rodolphe Briand | Barbarina Norma Nahoun | Antonio Filippo Fontana Thu 13, Sat 15, Sun 16 Aug 7pm, Festival Theatre 3hrs 20mins approx | £68 £60 £52 £42 £30 £20 £16 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/figaro Funded by

James and Morag Anderson through the Edinburgh International Festival Opera Development Fund

Iván Fischer conducts and directs a specially staged concert of one of opera’s most beloved comic creations. Mozart’s sparkling farce charts one crazy day of love and desire, deception and confusion across barriers of class and convention, as servant Figaro and his master, Count Almaviva, fight for the affections of maid Susanna.

Aptly subtitled ‘The Follies of a Day’, The Marriage of Figaro soars to comic heights but also plumbs the depths of emotion, expressing the joy and pain of love and the agony and ecstasy of desire, until all is resolved in a spirit of forgiveness.

Fischer’s startling production, acclaimed in Budapest and New York, fuses music and theatre, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Fischer on stage assisting the dramatic action and singers acting Mozart’s frenetic comedy in among the musicians.

‘A remarkable production’ The New York Times Staged concert performance sung in Italian with English supertitles

Photo  Eszter Gordon

OPERA 10

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OPERA

THE LAST HOTEL DONNACHA DENNEHY / ENDA WALSH Landmark Productions and Wide Open Opera Crash Ensemble André de Ridder Conductor Donnacha Dennehy Composer Enda Walsh Writer and director World Premiere Please note this performance contains strong language

The Last Hotel unites two of Ireland’s most fascinating artists, multi award-winning playwright Enda Walsh and composer Donnacha Dennehy in a new chamber opera about life, death, duty and guilt.

Walsh’s reputation as a chronicler of the darker side of the Irish psyche has been forged through works such as The Walworth Farce, Misterman and, most recently, Ballyturk. Dennehy is a composer of urgent, searching music that combines post-minimalist overtones with a very Irish sensibility.

As the opera begins, a man silently mops the floor – the water bloody. The hotel room he’s supposed to be preparing is not ready yet. A woman is meeting a man and his wife in the hotel’s car park.

All three are nervous. Tonight there’ll be a death.

The 12 strong Crash Ensemble is conducted by André de Ridder with a cast that includes baritone Robin Adams, sopranos Claudia Boyle and Katherine Manley and renowned Irish actor Mikel Murfi.

Photo Hugh O’Conor

Sat 8, Mon 10, Tue 11, Wed 12 Aug 8pm, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh | 1hr 20mins approx (no interval) | *£35 £28 £24 £20 £18 £12 Preview Fri 7 Aug 8pm | *£15 £12 £8 *Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/lasthotel Supported by

Supported by

Léan Scully EIF Fund

MUSIC THEATRE

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EN AVANT, MARCHE! LES BALLETS C DE LA B / ALAIN PLATEL / FRANK VAN LAECKE les ballets C de la B | NTGent Alain Platel and Frank Van Laecke Directors Koen Haagdorens Dramaturg Steven Prengels Composer and musical director KMV De Leiezonen Music performance for soundscape Cast includes Chris Thys, Griet Debacker, Hendrik Lebon, Wim Opbrouck, Gregory Van Seghbroeck (bass tuba), Jan D’Haene (trumpet), Jonas Van Hoeydonck (trumpet), Lies Vandeburie (bugle), Niels Van Heertum (euphonium), Simon Van Hueting (horn), Witse Lemmens (drums) and a local musical group Performed in Flemish with English supertitles

Alain Platel, the trailblazing founder and director of Belgian contemporary dance collective les ballets C de la B, makes his Edinburgh debut in a new music theatre work created with stage director Frank Van Laecke.

They take as their starting point the rehearsal room of an amateur brass band in Flanders. As the ties that hold local communities together begin to loosen, these amateur ensembles offer a civic and collective nucleus, teaching people of all ages and from different walks of life to play together and march in the same direction.

Photo Stephan Vanfleteren

Founded in 1984, les ballets C de la B is one of the most influential performing arts companies in Europe. They have travelled the world with their eclectic mix of contemporary dance, text, theatre and music and have played a crucial role in the development of young artists.

Mon 24 & Tue 25 Aug 8pm, King’s Theatre 1hr 30mins approx (no interval) | £32 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/marche Supported by

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THEATRE

ANTIGONE

By Sophokles

IVO VAN HOVE / ANNE CARSON Translated by Anne Carson Directed by Ivo van Hove

Ivo van Hove directs a stellar cast including Juliette Binoche, Obi Abili, Kirsty Bushell, Samuel Edward-Cook, Finbar Lynch, Patrick O’Kane and Kathryn Pogson in Anne Carson’s striking new translation of Sophokles’s great tragedy.

Performed in English

Binoche plays Antigone, a Theban noblewoman whose brother is deemed a traitor after fighting to the death in a vicious civil war. When his body is left unburied beyond the city walls, Antigone defies King Kreon to bury her brother with the honours he deserves.

Sat 8 – Sat 22 Aug 7.30pm (except Mon 10 & Mon 17 Aug); Sat 15 & Sat 22 Aug 2.30pm, King’s Theatre | 1hr 45mins approx (no interval) *£48 £42 £28 £24 £22 £18 £17 Preview Fri 7 Aug 7.30pm | *£44 £38 £26 £22 £20 £16 £15 *Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/antigone

Ivo van Hove made his British debut at the 1998 Edinburgh International Festival. Since then he has become one of the most acclaimed directors in Europe and the US. His recent productions of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America and Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge have won praise from critics and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Accessible performances, details p66

Supported by

The Pirie Rankin Charitable Trust With additional support from

The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and Institut français d’Ecosse Produced by the Barbican and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, in association with Toneelgroep Amsterdam Co-produced by Edinburgh International Festival and Théâtre de la Ville – Paris and Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen

Photo Gavin Evans

THEATRE 14

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THEATRE

887 EX MACHINA / ROBERT LEPAGE Written, directed and performed by Robert Lepage European Premiere An Ex Machina production, commissioned by the Arts and Culture Program of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games in co-production with le lieu unique, Nantes, La Comète – Scène nationale de Châlons-en-Champagne and Edinburgh International Festival.

Thu 13, Fri 14, Sat 15, Tue 18, Thu 20, Sun 23 Aug 7.30pm; Sun 16, Wed 19, Fri 21, Sat 22 Aug 2.30pm, Edinburgh International Conference Centre | 2hrs 15mins approx (no interval) | £32 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/887 Accessible performance, details p66 Supported by

Jo and Alison Elliot Supported by

Legendary director, playwright and ‘visual wizard’ (New York Times), Robert Lepage returns to Edinburgh to perform the European premiere of his new work.

While Lepage continues to pioneer the use of technology, his work is imbued with an intimacy and humanity that few can match. 887 is a riveting foray into the world of memory, exploring how personal recollections are reflected in collective consciousness. Lepage recalls his own experience as a French-speaking child during the October Crisis of 1970, when violent action by the Front de libération du Québec provoked the invocation of the War Measures Act, bringing troops onto the streets of the province. Years later, in an era of unlimited digital capture and storage he must examine the validity and nature of his memories and the very purpose of theatre, an art based on the act of remembering.

Robert Lepage is one of the most influential artists working in today’s theatre. His unclassifiable career has ranged from epic stagings for the Metropolitan Opera and Cirque du Soleil to deeply personal solo shows such as The Far Side of the Moon and major ensemble works such as The Seven Streams of the River Ota. He has directed many films including the acclaimed Le Polygraphe and starred in Denys Arcand’s Jésus de Montréal.

Photo Érick Labbé

THEATRE 16

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THEATRE

LANARK

A LIFE IN THREE ACTS

CITIZENS THEATRE / DAVID GREIG / GRAHAM EATOUGH / ALASDAIR GRAY Citizens Theatre | Adapted from the novel by Alasdair Gray Graham Eatough Director David Greig Writer Nick Powell Composer Laura Hopkins Designer World Premiere Co-production between the Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival

A young man arrives in a dying city with seashells in his pockets.

He doesn’t know who he is, or how he got here. He goes by the only name he can think of: Lanark.

This theatrical re-imagining of Alasdair Gray’s seminal work takes us from the Dragon Chambers to the Cathedral of Unthank, from the postwar Glasgow School of Art to the sinister underground Institute, from the heavenly city of Provan to the hellish Elite Café, combining sciencefiction, realism, fantasy, and playful storytelling.

This new production celebrates both Gray’s 80th year and the 70th anniversary of the Citizens Theatre and continues a collaboration between Graham Eatough and David Greig which began with experimental theatre company Suspect Culture.

Sun 23 Aug 6pm; Mon 24 – Sun 30 Aug (except Wed 26 Aug) 7pm; Tue 25, Thu 27, Sat 29, Mon 31 Aug 1pm, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh | 3hrs 40mins approx | £32 £25 £22 £17 £10 Fees apply, details p64 | Preview Sat 22 Aug 7pm | £15 | eif.co.uk/lanark Image Alasdair Gray

Accessible performances, details p66

Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

THEATRE

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MURMEL MURMEL

by Dieter Roth

VOLKSBÜHNE, BERLIN / HERBERT FRITSCH / DIETER ROTH Herbert Fritsch Director and stage designer Victoria Behr Costumes Ingo Günther Music Torsten König Lighting designer Sabrina Zwach Dramaturg Cast Florian Anderer, Matthias Buss, Werner Eng, Ingo Günther, Jonas Hien, Simon Jensen, Wolfram Koch, Annika Meier, Anne Ratte-Polle, Bastian Reiber, Stefan Staudinger and Axel Wandtke In 2012 actor and director Herbert Fritsch caused a sensation at Berlin’s Volksbühne Theatre with his sumptuous and hilarious staging of what was considered an unstagable work. Murmel Murmel is a play by Swiss artist Dieter Roth consisting of 178 pages of dialogue using only one word, Murmel.

The result is a side-splittingly funny eighty minutes of mind-altering slapstick, cringe-inducing costumes and a psychedelic surging set – a Dadaistic embrace of nonsense and hilarity in glorious technicolor.

You could call it a satirical comment on today’s hysterical, overexcited turbo-society or you could simply enjoy the brilliantly choreographed insanity.

Fri 28 & Sat 29 Aug 8pm; Sat 29 & Sun 30 Aug 3pm, King’s Theatre 1hr 20mins approx (no interval) | £32 £25 £20 £17 £12 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/murmel

Photo Thomas Aurin

Supported by

Edinburgh International Festival Friends and Patrons Supported by

The Director’s Circle

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THEATRE

THE ENCOUNTER COMPLICITE / SIMON MCBURNEY World Premiere Inspired by the book, Amazon Beaming, by Petru Popescu.

Simon McBurney Director and performer Michael Levine Designer Gareth Fry Sound designer Paul Anderson Lighting designer A Complicite co-production with Edinburgh International Festival, the Barbican London, Onassis Cultural Centre – Athens, Schaubühne Berlin, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and Warwick Arts Centre and supported by Sennheiser.

Sat 8, Sun 9, Mon 10, Sun 16, Mon 17, Wed 19, Fri 21, Sat 22 Aug 7.30pm; Fri 14, Sat 15, Thu 20, Sun 23 Aug 2.30pm, Edinburgh International Conference Centre | 2hrs approx | *£32 Preview Fri 7 Aug 7.30pm | *£15 *Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/encounter Funded by

Sir Ewan and Lady Brown through the Edinburgh International Festival Commissioning Fund

“…my hand, groping around the universe, has torn a corner open… why did I tear the corner open, if I’m not prepared for the encounter?”

Twenty years ago Simon McBurney was given a book.

Written by a Romanian who escaped the Ceaușescu regime to reinvent himself as a Los Angeles screenwriter, the book, Amazon Beaming, tells the story of photographer Loren McIntyre, who, in 1969, found himself lost among the remote people of the Javari Valley, on the border between Brazil and Peru. It was an encounter that changed his life: bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus.

Taking Petru Popescu’s account of McIntyre’s journey as its compass and using binaural technology to build an intimate and shifting world of sound, Complicite’s new production is a set of encounters with nature, with time, and with our own consciousness.

‘The experience is communal: the communion feels magic, almost holy. McBurney is the master.’ Financial Times on The Master and Margarita

Photo Chloe Courtney

THEATRE 20

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THEATRE

PAUL BRIGHT’S CONFESSIONS OF A JUSTIFIED SINNER RECONSTRUCTED BY UNTITLED PROJECTS Pamela Carter Writer Stewart Laing Director George Anton Actor Robbie Thompson and Jack Wrigley Visual artists Christopher Doyle Cinematographer Mike Brooks Lighting designer Emilia Weber Researcher Co-production by Untitled Projects, National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall

In 1987, Paul Bright, a rebellious young Scottish director set out to stage James Hogg’s cult novel, Confessions of a Justified Sinner in a series of radical productions across Scotland. In 2010, Untitled Projects began work with the actor George Anton to assemble an archive and exhibition of this almost forgotten feat of theatre.

In search of the truth, they uncovered a story of obsession, reckless ambition, bad behaviour, bitter memories, and love.

Photo Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Listed as one of The Guardian’s top ten Best Theatre productions of 2013, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a celebration and sharing of the life and work of a man who redefined Scottish theatre in the 1980s.

Contains strong language

‘often witty, occasionally hilarious, and always excellently acted.’

The Telegraph Wed 19 – Sat 22 Aug 8pm; Sat 22 Aug 4pm, The Queen’s Hall 2hrs approx (no interval) | £20 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/sinner

THEATRE

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DRAGON VOX MOTUS / NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND / TIANJIN PEOPLE’S ARTS THEATRE Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds Directors Oliver Emanuel Writer Tim Phillips Music Dragon is a story for adults, teenagers and children with vivid imaginations, told without words and featuring fast moving physical theatre, puppetry and original music.

Created by Vox Motus, the National Theatre of Scotland and Tianjin People’s Arts Theatre, Dragon tells the story of Tommy whose life, since the death of his mother, has gone from bad to worse. One restless night Tommy goes to the window and throws back the curtain to find himself face to face with a dragon.

Dragon was awarded Best Show for Children and Young People at the UK Theatre Awards 2014.

‘As enthralling for adults as it was for children, it was a riveting magical experience’ Sunday Mail Fri 14 & Sat 15 Aug 7pm, Sat 15 Aug 2pm, Sun 16 Aug 12noon & 4pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh | 1hr 10mins approx (no interval) £20 £15 £10 £8 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/dragon

Recommended for 9+ years | The show is completely accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Photo Drew Farrell

Accessible performance, details p66

Photo  Gert Weigelt

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DANCE

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SEVEN BALLETT AM RHEIN / MARTIN SCHLÄPFER / ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg Martin Schläpfer Choreographer Mahler Symphony No 7 in E minor Royal Scottish National Orchestra Wen-Pin Chien Conductor Germany’s Ballett am Rhein joins the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for Martin Schläpfer’s epic response to Mahler’s enigmatic 7th Symphony.

In this full-length ballet, the anguish and poignant beauty of Mahler’s Symphony seem to be written into the bodies of the dancers. Music and movement merge into a whirlpool of frenetic activity and then give way to serenity, childish naivety and virtuosity en pointe. The choreography finds its stance and fiction in the architecture of the Symphony, while a restless anxiety underscores the dancers’ grace and virtuosity.

Since his arrival at Ballett am Rhein in 2009 Schläpfer has revitalised the company, with Tanz magazine voting it ‘Best Company of the Year’ in both 2013 and 2014 ‘because here meticulous dancing is coupled with wise choice of repertoire, basking in a strongly individual creative spirit’.

Thu 20 – Sat 22 Aug 8pm, Edinburgh Playhouse 1hr 30mins approx (no interval) | £32 £28 £23 £18 £12 £10 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/seven Accessible performance, details p66 Supported by

Geoff and Mary Ball

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DANCE

SYLVIE GUILLEM – LIFE IN PROGRESS MATS EK / WILLIAM FORSYTHE / AKRAM KHAN / RUSSELL MALIPHANT Hailed as one of the greatest dancers of her generation, Sylvie Guillem embarks on her final world tour, in a programme that features new works by Akram Khan and Russell Maliphant and existing creations by Mats Ek and William Forsythe.

Guillem began training at the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1977, and in 1981 joined the company’s corps de ballet, being promoted to the rank of ‘Etoile’ by Rudolf Nureyev at the age of 19.

Since then she has performed all the leading roles of the classical repertoire with the world’s leading companies including The Royal Ballet, where she was principal guest artist for more than a decade. She has also performed with the world’s most famous companies including the Mariinsky, American Ballet Theatre and La Scala, Milan. Since 2004 she has been an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, and has forged a second, hugely successful career as a dancer in new and contemporary works.

‘Sylvie Guillem is widely regarded as the most brilliant ballerina of her generation’ The Guardian Sat 8 – Mon 10 Aug 7.30pm, Festival Theatre | 1hr 45mins approx £50 £42 £34 £28 £26 £14 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/guillem

Photo Lesley Leslie-Spinks

A Sadler’s Wells Production Sponsored by

DANCE

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LO REAL / LE RÉEL / THE REAL ISRAEL GALVÁN / CONTEMPORARY FLAMENCO Israel Galván Choreographer Israel Galván, Isabel Bayón and Belén Maya Dancers Tomás de Perrate and David Lagos Singers Juan Gómez ‘Chicuelo’ Guitar and music ensemble of the company Sung in Spanish with English supertitles

Israel Galván was born into flamenco and has gone on to extend the flamenco form with his innovative choreography and breathtaking dancing technique. One critic wrote, ‘Israel Galván doesn’t dance flamenco, he reinvents it’.

In his latest and perhaps most poignant creation, he draws together an extraordinary group of singers, instrumentalists and dancers to tell of the plight of the Roma and the Sinti peoples in fascist Spain during the 1930s and 40s. They convey the pain and the suffering – but also the pride, free spirit and love of life – of a people that remains persecuted to this day.

In his quest to examine his beloved traditional form in radically untraditional ways, Galván has provoked controversy and debate.

However, all agree that his passion, virtuosity and integrity have made him one of the most fascinating artists in contemporary Spanish dance.

Photo Javier del Real

‘The most indelible dance production of the year’ MUSICAL AMERICA

Wed 19 – Fri 21 Aug 7.30pm, Festival Theatre 1hr 50mins approx (no interval) | £30 £27 £25 £22 £20 £17 £12 Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/loreal

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DANCE

BALLETT ZÜRICH WAYNE MCGREGOR / CHRISTIAN SPUCK KAIROS Wayne McGregor Choreographer Max Richter Music

SONETT Christian Spuck Choreographer Philip Glass and Mozart Music Shakespeare Sonnets Nos. 20, 144, 147 and 66 Sonnets in French with English supertitles

Thu 27 – Sat 29 Aug 7.30pm, Edinburgh Playhouse 1hr 30mins approx | £32 £28 £23 £18 £12 £10 Fees apply, details p64 | Special offer Buy for Ballett Zürich and Max Richter concert on 24 Aug and save 20% | eif.co.uk/zurich

Accessible performance, details p66

Supported by

With additional support from

Swiss Cultural Fund UK

Ballett Zürich, one of Europe’s leading ensembles, presents a captivating double bill featuring works by their artistic director Christian Spuck and multi-award-winning British choreographer Wayne McGregor.

McGregor’s new work Kairos is a seamless marriage of design and structure set to Max Richter’s celebrated reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and features striking designs by leading British artist Idris Khan. In Sonett Ballett Zürich’s Artistic Director Christian Spuck plunges into the mysterious world of William Shakespeare’s late sonnets weaving together music, dance and language with his customary theatrical flair and passion.

Spuck returns to Edinburgh following his highly successful 2009 visit with The Return of Ulysses from the Royal Ballet of Flanders. As a dancer he performed with Jan Lauwers’s Needcompany and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Rosas before going on to become choreographer in residence at Stuttgart Ballet and Director of Ballett Zürich.

Wayne McGregor is internationally renowned for his physically testing choreography and ground breaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. In 1992 he founded Wayne McGregor | Random Dance and in 2006 was appointed Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet. He has created works for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, English National Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1 and Rambert.

Max Richter performs Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons live at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 24 August, alongside violinist Daniel Hope and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by André de Ridder. See p29 for details.

Photo  Judith Schlosser

DANCE 28

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MUSIC DANCE

MAX RICHTER RECOMPOSED / MEMORYHOUSE Max Richter Electronics / Keyboards Daniel Hope Violin BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra André de Ridder Conductor Max Richter Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons Max Richter Memoryhouse Pioneering British musician Max Richter inhabits an indefinable realm between contemporary classical and indie pop, creating achingly gorgeous soundscapes that combine the icy purity of minimalist composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt with the richness of contemporary electronica.

Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons is Richter’s subtly radical postmodern remix of one of classical music’s best-loved works, taking the great Baroque composer’s four concertos as the starting point for a startling musical transformation bringing in loops, samples, drifting ambient soundscapes and monumental walls of sound.

This special Festival performance brings together the work’s original performers – respected international solo violinist Daniel Hope, conductor and contemporary music specialist André de Ridder, with Richter himself on keyboards and electronics – who are joined by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Memoryhouse is an intoxicating journey through the beauty and tragedy of 20th-century Europe, combining music, poetry and voices to explore stories real and imagined, with Baroque harpsichord, soaring strings, poignant piano, electronics and orchestra.

Mon 24 Aug 8pm, Edinburgh Playhouse | 2hrs 15mins approx £32 £28 £23 £18 £12 £10 | Fees apply, details p64 Special offer Buy for Ballett Zürich and Max Richter and save 20% eif.co.uk/maxrichter

Photo Fan Xi

Max Richter’s Recomposed: Vivaldi’s – The Four Seasons is the soundtrack for Wayne McGregor’s Kairos performed by Ballett Zürich at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 27–29 Aug. See p27 for details.

DANCE

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TAO DANCE THEATRE WEIGHT X 3 / 5 Tao Ye Choreographer Steve Reich Music Xiao He Music TAO Dance Theatre has taken the dance world by storm.

Choreographer and founder Tao Ye’s ritualistic aesthetic combines with the rigour and exploration of contemporary expression to create hypnotic and mesmerising works that represent the cutting edge of creativity.

Weight x 3 is a triptych set to the unmistakable pulsating rhythms of minimalist composer Steve Reich, in which both the music and the dancers seem caught in never-ending loops and repetitions. It features two duets – the dancers moving in near perfect unison, reflecting the music’s shifting patterns – and a skilful solo in which a female dancer twirls and manipulates a long staff with amazing speed and dexterity.

5 is part of Tao Ye’s numbered series of minimalist experiments that explore the potential of the human body as a purely visual form, freed from the constraints of representation or narrative. Accompanied by the music of Chinese Indie-folk-rock composer Xiao He, five dancers touch each other; never separating, moving in an indistinguishable mass.

Mon 17 & Tue 18 Aug 8pm, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 1hr 30mins approx | £32 £25 £22 £17 £10 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/tao Supported by

The Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

MUSIC

Photo David Edwards

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SUFJAN STEVENS

FFS (FRANZ FERDINAND & SPARKS)

To celebrate the release of his latest album Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens opens his European tour with a special date at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Two iconic bands join forces in a bold, new creative endeavour and the fruits of this seemingly unlikely musical idea have finally been born. Franz Ferdinand and Sparks have become FFS.

Carrie & Lowell was recorded by Stevens alongside Casey Foubert, Laura Veirs, Nedelle Torrisi, Sean Carey, Ben Lester and Thomas Bartlett. The eleven songs address life and death, love and loss, and the artist’s struggle to make sense of the beauty and ugliness of love.

The album is named for Stevens’s mother and stepfather and marks a return to his folk roots.

The mutual admiration society between Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, Paul Thomson, Ron Mael and Russell Mael has manifested itself in a striking new album produced by John Congleton, master producer of St. Vincent and many other great artists.

The concert will begin with a support act. Check eif.co.uk for details in the run-up to the Festival.

‘Yet again this prodigal genius manages to confound expectations, confirming his place as modern music’s most protean artist’ The Independent Sun 30 Aug 8pm, Edinburgh Playhouse | 2hrs 30mins approx £30 £25 £20 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/sufjanstevens

And without further ado, they are upping the ante and announcing that FFS will be performing live. Unmissable!

The concert will begin with a support act. Check eif.co.uk for details in the run-up to the Festival.

Mon 24 Aug 8pm, Festival Theatre | 2hrs 15mins approx £25 £20 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/ffs

Photo Roger Deckker

THE HUB SESSIONS

THE HUB SESSIONS

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ANNA CALVI

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THE HUB SESSIONS

CHAMBERS | CHILLY GONZALES FEATURING KAISER QUARTETT

FROM SCOTLAND WITH LOVE KING CREOSOTE

All-round piano virtuoso and entertainer Chilly Gonzales teams up with the Kaiser Quartett to present his hotly anticipated new project Chambers, performing material inspired by Bach to Daft Punk and much in between. Gonzo re-imagines chamber music as if it were today’s pop, with his array of rap, classical, ambient and more.

Love and loss, war, resistance, emigration, work and play – but most of all, Scotland, in a film that brings out not only the vividness of the past in the present but also very much the personal. With archive footage from the Scottish Screen Archive, Virginia Heath’s poetic documentary From Scotland with Love is screened with a transcendent original score written and performed live by Kenny Anderson, aka Mercury-nominated indie-folk hero King Creosote.

Sat 8 & Sun 9 Aug 9.30pm | 1hr 50mins approx | eif.co.uk/chilly Fri 14 Aug 10.30pm & Sat 15 Aug 9.30pm | 1hr 25mins approx eif.co.uk/creosote

ROBERT GLASPER TRIO Robert Glasper, pianist, bandleader, composer and producer, combines the language of the jazz mainstream with a command of the urban music landscape. Recordings, such as Grammy-winning Black Radio 1, set new benchmarks for jazz in the 21st century and here Glasper plays in the acoustic piano trio format, creating a dynamic and hypnotic tension between his freewheeling improvisation and tight and irresistible grooves.

Mon 10 Aug 10.30pm | 2hrs approx | eif.co.uk/glasper

ALL RISE – A JOYFUL ELEGY FOR FATS WALLER | JASON MORAN

ANNA CALVI AND HERITAGE ORCHESTRA Critically acclaimed star Anna Calvi gives a special concert with the innovative and eclectic Heritage Orchestra. Famed for her operatic song, virtuoso guitar playing and theatrical stage presence, in this concert Calvi’s distinctive songs sound quite different. New orchestral versions of tracks from her Mercury nominated albums Anna Calvi, and One Breath as well as from her recent EP Strange Weather, are performed by the Heritage Orchestra – which she worked with on the Giorgio Moroder show at the Sydney Opera House.

Tue 18, Wed 19 & Thu 20 Aug 10.30pm | 1hr 40mins approx eif.co.uk/calvi

A heartfelt and affectionate take on the music of Fats Waller, the ebullient, larger-than-life pianist, singer and comic genius whose music acted as a door that opened straight onto the 1930s dance floor.

All Rise pays tribute to a rich history, while introducing a contemporary edge through vocal versions of Waller’s songs that connect to today’s soul and R&B styles, and through Moran’s heady fusion of stride-piano stomp, free-improvisation and harmonic sophistication.

Thu 13 Aug 10.30pm | 1hr 30mins approx | eif.co.uk/moran

The Hub Sessions – all concerts The Hub | £25 Fees apply, details p64

Photo Timothy Saccenti

THE HUB SESSIONS

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ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

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THE HUB SESSIONS

MAGNETIC ROSE ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER Experimental American composer Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) performs a new live soundtrack to accompany a screening of the Katsuhiro Otomo film Magnetic Rose. Oneohtrix, recently cited

by NME as one of the ‘100 most influential artists’, creates futuristic soundscapes that continuously conjure mystical images of the unknown. This Scottish premiere adds a whole new dimension to the accompanying footage. The second part of the evening features a performance of Bullet Hell Abstraction IV, a new composition inspired by video games.

Sat 22 Aug 9.30pm | 1hr 40mins approx | eif.co.uk/oneohtrix

WAVE MOVEMENTS Composed by Richard Reed Parry and Bryce Dessner Performed by Scottish Chamber Orchestra Images by Hiroshi Sugimoto Composers Richard Reed Parry and Bryce Dessner, also members of rock bands Arcade Fire and The National respectively, take as inspiration the different wave cycles of the world’s oceans in a work for string orchestra and film. The music, composed directly to the actual rhythms of waves, is performed live by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to a film made by the photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto who created an iconic series of seascape photos in the 1980s.

Co-commissioned by MET Museum Presents for the NY Philharmonic Contact Ensemble in collaboration with Barbican Centre, Edinburgh International Festival, Cork Opera House, Sydney Festival and St. Denis Festival

Fri 28 Aug 9.15pm | 1hr 40mins approx | eif.co.uk/wavemovements

ALEXI MURDOCH The enigmatic Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Alexi Murdoch has released two critically acclaimed albums and a soundtrack.

Time Without Consequence, released in 2006, became one of the most frequently used albums for film and television in a decade, making Murdoch that rare artist who is known almost entirely for how his music actually sounds. The soundtrack of the 2009 film Away We Go, created by director Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida featured nine of his songs. His third recording, Towards the Sun, was released in 2011.

Thu 27 Aug 9.30pm | 2hrs approx | eif.co.uk/murdoch

ROUND-UP Music by Sufjan Stevens Performed by Yarn/Wire Songwriter Sufjan Stevens puts his expressive voice and exuberant orchestrations in the service of unabashed wonder at the world.

In this film soundtrack Stevens turns his gaze to the rodeo, in all its bullriding, calf-roping, barrel-racing glory. With slow motion footage shot by sibling filmmakers Aaron and Alex Craig at the 2013 Pendleton RoundUp in Oregon, Round-Up is a musical and cinematic portrait of a classic American tradition. Piano and percussion quartet Yarn/Wire perform the score live.

Commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music

Sat 29 Aug 10pm | 1hr 20mins approx | eif.co.uk/roundup

The Hub Sessions – all concerts The Hub | £25 Fees apply, details p64

Photo Kristen Loken

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

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MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS

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THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

THE OPENING CONCERT

CELTIC DIALOGUES

RAMEAU & CHARPENTIER

Donald Runnicles conducts Brahms and Strauss

Old, Historical and Modern Traditions

William Christie conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles Conductor

Jordi Savall Viola da gamba / Viol Martin Hayes Violin Dennis Cahill Guitar Andrew Lawrence-King Irish Harp & Psaltery Frank McGuire Bodhran

Scottish Chamber Orchestra William Christie Conductor

A provocative intermingling of contrasting musical traditions as early music pioneer and viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall joins Irish fiddle legend Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill to explore the richness of Celtic music, including Scottish tunes The Reel of Tullochgorum and The Hills of Lorne, as well as The Humours of Scariff and Sackow’s Jig from Ireland.

Sung in French with English supertitles

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master Brahms Gesang der Parzen Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzer (orch. Brahms) Brahms Schicksalslied Strauss Ein Heldenleben Sung in German with English supertitles

Donald Runnicles directs Richard Strauss’s powerful musical and autobiographical portrait of a hero’s life, alongside richly Romantic choral music by Brahms – including the brooding Gesang der Parzen and a selection of the charming, lyrical Liebeslieder Waltzer.

Sat 8 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx | £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £14 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/opening This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Supported by

50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

Sun 9 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx | £38 £30 £24 £20 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/celticdialogues Supported by

Scenes from Charpentier’s Médée and Rameau’s Les Boréades

William Christie, the great pioneer of the French Baroque revival, conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in an evening of vocal and instrumental music from two of the finest early French operas: Charpentier’s Médée and Rameau’s remarkable final opera Les Boréades, unperformed in his own lifetime and a feast of colour, melody and spectacle.

Mon 10 Aug 9pm, Usher Hall 1hr 30mins approx (no interval) £38 £30 £24 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/rameau-charpentier

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

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LE CONCERT SPIRITUEL

THE RAKE’S PROGRESS

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts

Sir Andrew Davis conducts Stravinsky

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts Berlioz

Hervé Niquet Conductor

Scottish Chamber Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis Conductor

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique Sir John Eliot Gardiner Conductor

Royal Conservatoire Voices Timothy Dean Chorus Master

National Youth Choir of Scotland Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Concert performance sung in English with supertitles

Michael Spyres Tenor Laurent Naouri Bass

Striggio Mass in 40 Parts Written to uplift and inspire, Striggio’s recently rediscovered Mass in 40 Parts is one of the late Renaissance’s grandest, most sumptuous choral works, performed here by leading French early music ensemble Le Concert Spirituel under founding director Hervé Niquet.

Tue 11 Aug 9pm, Usher Hall 1hr 25mins approx (no interval) £38 £30 £24 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/spirituel Supported by

David McLellan

Emily Birsan Anne Trulove Andrew Staples Tom Rakewell Gidon Saks Nick Shadow Elizabeth DeShong Baba the Turk Catherine Wyn-Rogers Mother Goose Peter Rose Trulove Alan Oke Sellem Ashley Riches Keeper of the madhouse Stravinsky and W.H. Auden’s darkly sparkling operatic morality tale on love, money and Faustian pacts. Renowned opera conductor Sir Andrew Davis directs a rich line-up of international soloists and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Wed 12 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs 45mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/rakes Supported by

The Stevenston Charitable Trust

Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Berlioz Lélio Sung in French and Italian with English supertitles

Romantic passions and spurned love course through two phantasmagorical works by Berlioz – the vivid storytelling of the Symphonie fantastique, and its sequel, the visionary Lélio – conducted by period performance pioneer Sir John Eliot Gardiner with his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.

Thu 13 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 2hrs 15mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/fantastique Supported by

Dunard Fund

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THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

MACMILLAN & SIBELIUS

OSLO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 01

OSLO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 02

Colin Currie makes his Festival debut

Vasily Petrenko conducts Grieg’s Peer Gynt

Nicola Benedetti performs Glazunov

Royal Scottish National Orchestra Edward Gardner Conductor

Vasily Petrenko Conductor

Vasily Petrenko Conductor Nicola Benedetti Violin

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master RSNO Chorus Gregory Batsleer Chorus Director Colin Currie Percussion Anna Larsson Mezzo soprano Johan Reuter Baritone James MacMillan Percussion Concerto No 2 Sibelius Kullervo Sung in Finnish with English supertitles

Scottish-born percussionist Colin Currie is the soloist in the energetic, metal-focused Second Percussion Concerto by James MacMillan, receiving its Scottish premiere alongside Sibelius’s grand musical retelling of a powerful tale from Finnish folklore.

Grieg Peer Gynt Suites No 1 and No 2 Rachmaninov Symphony No 2 Grieg’s evocative musical tales of trolls and fjords, alongside Rachmaninov’s symphonic melding of soaring Russian melody and surging power, from the energetic partnership of passionate Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, in the first of their two Festival concerts.

Sat 15 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/opo1 Supported by

The Binks Trust With additional support from

Fri 14 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs 15mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/macmillan-sibelius Sponsored by

50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

Norwegian Consulate General Edinburgh

Geirr Tveitt Selection of pieces from 100 Folk Tunes from Hardanger Glazunov Violin Concerto Sibelius Symphony No 1 Nicola Benedetti joins Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra as soloist in Glazunov’s sparkling, lyrical Violin Concerto, with the expansive melody of Sibelius’s powerful First Symphony closing their second Festival concert.

Sun 16 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 1hr 30mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/opo2 Supported by

The Binks Trust With additional support from

Norwegian Consulate General Edinburgh

Photo Xun Chi

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

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LANG LANG

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THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

MOZART’S REQUIEM

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA

LANG LANG IN RECITAL

Iván Fischer conducts the Budapest Festival Orchestra

Lang Lang performs Bartók’s Piano Concerto No 2

Plays Bach, Tchaikovsky and Chopin

Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer Conductor

Esa-Pekka Salonen Conductor Lang Lang Piano

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Bartók Piano Concerto No 2 Stravinsky Petrushka (1947) Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini

Bach Italian Concerto Tchaikovsky The Seasons Chopin Four Scherzos

Miah Persson Soprano Barbara Kozelj Mezzo soprano Jeremy Ovenden Tenor Konstantin Wolff Bass Mozart Symphony No 38 ‘Prague’ Mozart Requiem Two late, visionary masterpieces by Mozart, the glowing ‘Prague’ Symphony with its teeming melody and the sublime Requiem performed by incisive conductor Iván Fischer and his characterful Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Tue 18 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall Approx 1hr 45mins £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/mozartrequiem This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Supported by

The Bacher Trust 50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

Flamboyant showman and global piano sensation Lang Lang is the soloist in Bartók’s brilliantly rhythmic Second Piano Concerto, while the Philharmonia Orchestra and EsaPekka Salonen continue the programme with the sumptuous colours of Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

Wed 19 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall Approx 1hr 45mins £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £14 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/phil Supported by

Joscelyn Fox

Lang Lang returns to the Usher Hall for a solo recital showcasing the poetry and pyrotechnics of his powerful pianism, from the brisk precision of Bach to the dazzling keyboard fireworks of Chopin, by way of Tchaikovsky’s gloriously lyrical The Seasons.

Fri 21 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall Approx 2hrs £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £14 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/langlang Sponsored by

Photo Justin Pumfrey / Decca

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

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MITSUKO UCHIDA

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THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

BERLIOZ’S GRANDE MESSE DES MORTS

H.M.S. PINAFORE

MITSUKO UCHIDA IN RECITAL

Performed by the Edinburgh Festival Chorus

Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic comic opera

Plays Schubert and Beethoven

Philharmonia Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen Conductor

Scottish Opera Richard Egarr Conductor

Schubert Impromptus D899 Beethoven 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Concert performance sung in English with supertitles

Combining sensitivity with searing insights, Mitsuko Uchida tackles one of the cornerstones of the keyboard repertoire – Beethoven’s epic, all-encompassing Diabelli Variations – alongside the poetry of Schubert’s melodious Impromptus, D899.

Lawrence Brownlee Tenor Berlioz Grande messe des morts Berlioz’s monumental Requiem is one of the grandest works ever conceived, with music both elemental and touchingly poignant summoned by epic choral and orchestral forces including four sets of timpani and four brass choirs. In their second Festival concert, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra are joined by the massed ranks of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.

Sat 22 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 1hr 20mins approx (no interval) £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/grandemesse

John Mark Ainsley Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. Andrew Foster-Williams Captain Corcoran Toby Spence Ralph Rackstraw Elizabeth Watts Josephine Hilary Summers Little Buttercup Kitty Whately Hebe Neal Davies Dick Deadeye Gavan Ring Bill Bobstay Barnaby Rea Bob Becket A special concert performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s sparkling nautical comic opera.

Scottish Opera brings together a fine cast of British singers, conducted by Richard Egarr.

Sun 23 Aug 5pm, Usher Hall 1hr 30mins approx (no interval) £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/pinafore

50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

Sponsored by

Mon 24 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 1hr 45mins approx £38 £30 £24 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/uchida

Photo David Ignaszewski

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

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JORDI SAVALL

45

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

NOSEDA CONDUCTS MAHLER

VIVALDI’S THE FOUR SEASONS

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY 01

Diana Damrau and Nicolas Testé sing Verdi

Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Bach and Vivaldi

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Mahler

European Union Youth Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda Conductor

Mutter’s Virtuosi Anne-Sophie Mutter Director / Violin

Michael Tilson Thomas Conductor

Diana Damrau Soprano Nicolas Testé Baritone

Bach Concerto for Two Violins André Previn Nonet (World premiere) Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Verdi Arias Mahler Symphony No 5 Sung in Italian with English supertitles

World-renowned soprano Diana Damrau, winner of numerous accolades including the International Opera Awards 2014 female singer of the year, joins acclaimed baritone Nicolas Testé and the vibrant players of the EUYO for dramatic arias and duets from Verdi’s Luisa Miller and I Masnadieri, followed by Mahler’s searing Fifth Symphony.

Tue 25 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs 15mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/mahler5

One of the world’s pre-eminent violinists joins her hand-picked ensemble of emerging soloists for fresh perspectives on two of the Baroque repertoire’s best-loved works, alongside a brand new piece written specially for them

by André Previn.

Wed 26 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 1hr 45mins approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/fourseasons

St. Lawrence String Quartet Schoenberg Theme and Variations Op 43b John Adams Absolute Jest Mahler Symphony No 1 Mahler’s powerful First Symphony sits alongside John Adams’s witty rethinking of Beethoven in the first of the San Francisco Symphony’s two Festival concerts under renowned Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas.

Thu 27 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £14 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/sfs1

Supported by Supported by

Dunard Fund With additional support from

Supported by

The Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh The appearance of Diana Damrau supported by

John-Paul and Joanna Temperley

U.S. Embassy, London

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY 02

BEETHOVEN’S MISSA SOLEMNIS

STRAVINSKY’S THE RITE OF SPRING

Performs Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5

Robin Ticciati conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Valery Gergiev conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Michael Tilson Thomas Conductor

Scottish Chamber Orchestra Robin Ticciati Conductor

London Symphony Orchestra Valery Gergiev Conductor

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Yefim Bronfman Piano

Yuja Wang Piano Ives ‘Decoration Day’ from New England Holidays Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5 Piano sensation Yuja Wang performs Beethoven’s poetic Fourth Piano Concerto in the San Francisco Symphony’s second Festival concert, which closes with the triumph over tragedy of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.

Fri 28 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £14 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/sfs2 Supported by

Dunard Fund With additional support from

Genia Kühmeier Soprano Alice Coote Mezzo soprano Michael Schade Tenor Georg Zeppenfeld Bass Beethoven Missa solemnis Beethoven’s grand and tumultuous spiritual journey is one of the greatest choral works ever composed, and it is performed by an international line-up of soloists and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under perceptive Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati.

Sat 29 Aug 8pm, Usher Hall 1hr 20mins approx (no interval) £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/missa Supported by

U.S. Embassy, London

Donald and Louise MacDonald 50th Anniversary Edinburgh Festival Chorus Partner

The Morton Charitable Trust

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Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin Bartók Piano Concerto No 3 Stravinsky The Rite of Spring Conducting powerhouse Valery Gergiev and the magnificent London Symphony Orchestra bring the Festival’s Usher Hall concerts to a close with music by two of the 20th century’s most dazzling, vibrant composers.

Sun 30 Aug 7.30pm, Usher Hall 2hrs approx £44 £36 £27 £25 £18 £12 Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/riteofspring Supported by

Susie Thomson

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FAMILY CONCERT

FAMILY CONCERT SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PLAYERS The Virgin Money Fireworks Concert paints a picture in the Edinburgh evening sky using music and pyrotechnics and this innovative Family Concert uses digital technology to create a joyful and playful bridge between live music and light.

Together the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Parisian technologists Chevalvert present a concert providing families with the opportunity to see and hear music from Festival 2015 including John Adams’s Hallelujah Junction and a celebration of dance reflecting the music of the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert. Adults and young people together will delight in the visual beauty of music as it is being performed live.

Sun 30 Aug 3pm, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr approx £15 £12.50 £10 £8 £5 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/family

Photo Grant Richie

Sponsored by

VIRGIN MONEY FIREWORKS CONCERT

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VIRGIN MONEY FIREWORKS CONCERT SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Garry Walker Conductor E Strauss Carmen-Quadrille J Strauss II Emperor Waltz Brahms Hungarian Dances Dvořák Slavonic Dances J Strauss II Thunder and Lightning Polka Monday 31 August 9.30pm Ross Theatre (seated) £27.50 Princes Street Gardens (standing) £12.50 Priority entry £17.50 | 45mins approx Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks Sponsored by

This year’s Virgin Money Fireworks Concert brings Edinburgh’s summer festival season to a spectacular conclusion, now on the last Monday evening. With a celebration of dance music the concert sets stirring and delightful music with an outstanding and sparkling visual extravaganza. The breathtaking fireworks display is specially choreographed by international fireworks artists Pyrovision.

During the day schools from throughout Edinburgh will be invited to enjoy a concert in the Ross Theatre in the run-up to the Fireworks Concert. The Edinburgh Secondary Schools Orchestra and members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Vibe project present a special programme of live music.

Visit eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks for up-to-the-minute news, features and advice on how to make the best of your evening at the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert.

Please note that there are special ticket sales arrangements for this event. See page 64 for further details.

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

Broadcast Partner

Photo Marco Borggreve

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is supported by

Edinburgh International Festival Benefactors

LEONIDAS KAVAKOS

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

NASH ENSEMBLE

MODIGLIANI QUARTET

Vaughan Williams Piano Quintet in C minor Schubert Octet

Beethoven String Quartet in C minor Op 18 No 4 Ravel String Quartet in F Dohnányi String Quartet No 3 in A minor

One of Britain’s most revered chamber groups performs Schubert’s gloriously tuneful Octet, alongside the Brahms-influenced early Piano Quintet by Vaughan Williams.

Sat 8 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/nash This concert will be broadcast on Thu 13 Aug on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

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One of the most exciting of today’s younger quartets brings together dramatic Beethoven, sophisticated Ravel and Dohnányi at his most richly expressive.

Tue 11 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/modigliani This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

The Peter Diamand Trust

TALLIS SCHOLARS Music by Tallis, Sheppard and Arvo Pärt Radiant choral works both ancient and modern from the sublime voices of one of the UK’s most accomplished vocal ensembles, under founding Director Peter Phillips. They contrast the rich Tudor polyphony of Thomas Tallis’s Sancte deus and John Sheppard’s Media vita and Gaude, gaude, gaude with the exquisite sparseness of Arvo Pärt’s Nunc dimittis and Triodion.

Mon 10 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/tallis

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

VALENTINA NAFORNIŢA SOPRANO ROGER VIGNOLES PIANO Lieder and songs by Fauré, Liszt, Bartók, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák Richly romantic songs – including colourful gypsy melodies by Dvořák and Fauré’s evocative Chanson d’amour and Le secret – in a recital showcasing the vibrant, sensual vocal talents of acclaimed Moldovan soprano Valentina Naforniţa, winner of 2011’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, partnered by one of today’s most distinguished accompanists.

Wed 12 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/nafornita-vignoles This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Frank Hitchman

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THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

ANGELA HEWITT PIANO

TRIO ZIMMERMANN

Works by Domenico Scarlatti, Granados, Albéniz and de Falla

Schubert String Trio in B flat D581 Hindemith String Trio No 2 Beethoven String Trio in E flat Op 3

Famed for her immaculate, sensitive pianism, Angela Hewitt contrasts sparkling sonatas by Scarlatti with lush Iberian fantasies including Granados’s Danzas españolas and Falla’s sparkling, evocative Fantasia baetica.

Thu 13 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/hewitt Supported by

Joscelyn Fox

The all-star Trio Zimmermann – Frank Peter Zimmermann, Antoine Tamestit and Christian Poltéra – has been credited with reinvigorating the string trio, and performs youthful Schubert, bracing Hindemith and Beethoven at his most classically elegant.

Sat 15 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/zimmermann Supported by

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA SOLOISTS Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes Poulenc Sextet Bartók Piano Quintet Three colourful chamber works performed by respected solo players from the acclaimed Budapest Festival Orchestra: the earthy exoticism of Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes, Poulenc’s effervescent Sextet for piano and wind, and the distinctive Hungarian flavours of Bartók’s youthful, Brahms-inspired Piano Quintet.

Fri 14 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/bfo This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Donald and Louise MacDonald Supported by

MAGAZINE

SARAH CONNOLLY MEZZO SOPRANO MALCOLM MARTINEAU PIANO Songs and Lieder by Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, Debussy, Poulenc, Korngold, Strauss and Eisler One of Britain’s finest singers, mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly matches a richly expressive voice with a keen sense of drama. She brings together a recital of vivid, opulent songs, from Strauss’s lush Sehnsucht to the sensual Chansons de Bilitis by Debussy, with acclaimed Edinburgh-born pianist Malcolm Martineau.

Mon 17 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/connolly-martineau This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Jim and Isobel Stretton

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

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RICHARD EGARR HARPSICHORD

JAMES GILCHRIST

Bach English Suite No 3 in G minor

French Suite No 6 in E

French Suite No 5 in G

English Suite No 6 in D minor

James Gilchrist Tenor | Craig Ogden Guitar | Anna Tilbrook Piano

One of Britain’s most respected Baroque specialists, harpsichordist Richard Egarr contrasts the dances and drama of four of Bach’s captivating English and French suites.

Tue 18 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/egarr This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

IESTYN DAVIES & ENSEMBLE GUADAGNI

Berkeley Five Chinese Songs Op 78 Britten Songs from the Chinese Op 58 Sally Beamish Four Songs from Hafez Schubert ‘Ständchen’ from Schwanengesang Dowland ‘In Darkness let me Dwell’ & ‘Come, heavy sleep’ Britten Nocturnal after John Dowland Op 70 Schumann Liederkreis Op 39 Please note this programme has changed from earlier published versions.

British tenor James Gilchrist brings together Eastern-inspired works by Lennox Berkeley, Britten and Sally Beamish in his richly coloured Festival recital, joined by pianist Anna Tilbrook and guitarist Craig Ogden, who also performs Britten’s atmospheric Nocturnal after John Dowland.

Gilchrist completes his programme with the lyrical, deeply romantic songs of Schumann’s Liederkreis.

Iestyn Davies Countertenor

Thu 20 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/gilchrist

Richard Egarr Harpsichord Pamela Thorby and Tabea Debus Recorders Bojan Čičić and Sophie Gent Violins Huw Daniel Violin / Viola Alison McGillivray Viola da gamba William Carter Theorbo / Baroque guitar

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Orpheus Britannicus: The Music of Henry Purcell Praised for performances both sensual and sublime, Iestyn Davies has rapidly established himself as one of the world’s pre-eminent countertenors. He’s joined by early music expert Richard Egarr and friends for a recital of exquisite music from the English Baroque.

Wed 19 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/davies-guadagni This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Mr Hedley G Wright

COLIN CURRIE & FRIENDS Colin Currie Percussion | Sam Walton Percussion Simon Crawford-Phillips Piano | Philip Moore Piano John Adams Hallelujah Junction Steve Reich Quartet for Two Vibraphones and Two Pianos Rolf Wallin Realismos mágicos Bartók Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion Exhilarating music for two pianists and two percussionists – from Steve Reich’s graceful Quartet for Two Vibraphones and Two Pianos, recently premiered, to Bartók’s classic score of bracing virtuosity – performed by renowned Scottish-born percussionist Colin Currie and colleagues.

Fri 21 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/currie This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Photo Marco Borggreve

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THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

MATTHIAS GOERNE

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

CHRISTINE BREWER SOPRANO ROGER VIGNOLES PIANO Includes Lieder by Schubert, Clara Schumann and Strauss, and a selection of 20th-century American songs

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ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET Osvaldo Golijov Qohelet John Adams First Quartet Saint-Saëns String Quartet No 1

With a voice combining power, grace and intimacy, Christine Brewer is one of the most respected singers of her generation. Here she brings together Romantic Lieder by Schubert, Clara Schumann and Strauss, as well as a selection of her favourite 20th-century American songs.

US composer John Adams wrote his First Quartet expressly for the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and its surging textures make an ideal match for the foursome’s mix of finesse and fiery power. They complement it with Osvaldo Golijov’s lyrical, searching Qohelet and Saint-Saëns’s mellifluous First Quartet.

Sat 22 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/brewer-vignoles

Tue 25 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/lawrence

This concert will be broadcast on Fri 28 Aug on BBC Radio 3.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Donald and Louise MacDonald

SOL GABETTA CELLO BERTRAND CHAMAYOU PIANO

LEONIDAS KAVAKOS VIOLIN YUJA WANG PIANO Brahms Violin Sonata No 1 in G Brahms Violin Sonata No 2 in A Brahms Violin Sonata No 3 in D minor

Beethoven Variations in E flat on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No 2 in D Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor Chopin Grand Duo concertant sur des thèmes de Robert le diable

Powerful Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and inspirational Chinese pianist Yuja Wang come together to tackle the deeply thoughtful, noble music of Brahms’s three rich, masterful violin sonatas.

Sensuous yet full of searing insights, Argentinian cellist Sol Gabetta’s playing has been widely admired. With French pianist Bertrand Chamayou, she gives a captivating programme contrasting Beethoven’s lyrical Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ with passionate cello sonatas by Mendelssohn and Chopin.

Wed 26 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/kavakos-wang

Mon 24 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/gabetta-chamayou This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Sponsored by

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Photo Luiza Puiu

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THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

VALENTINA NAFORNIŢA

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

ZEHETMAIR QUARTET Haydn String Quartet in F Op 3 No 5 ‘Serenade’ Hindemith String Quartet No 5 Haydn String Quartet in C Op 76 No 3 ‘Emperor’ Violinist Thomas Zehetmair leads his exceptional foursome, acclaimed for its vivid, questing performances, in music by two Germanic giants: pioneering quartets from Haydn’s youth and maturity, and mischievous fun from Hindemith.

Thu 27 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/zehetmair

MATTHIAS GOERNE BARITONE DANIIL TRIFONOV PIANO Berg Four Lieder Op 2 Schumann Dichterliebe Wolf Michelangelo Lieder Shostakovich Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti (selection) Brahms Four Serious Songs Both renowned soloists in their own right, two of the world’s most powerful musicians come together for a special Festival recital of intensely expressive song, including Brahms’s deeply personal Four Serious Songs and the poignant Romanticism of Schumann’s touching Dichterliebe.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by

Niall and Carol Lothian

Sat 29 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 eif.co.uk/goerne-trifonov Supported by

ARCANTO QUARTET Purcell Fantasias Britten String Quartet No 3 Schubert String Quartet in G The four members of the exceptional Arcanto Quartet – Antje Weithaas (violin), Daniel Sepec (violin), Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) – bring together Schubert’s grand G major Quartet and Britten’s touchingly lyrical, Venice-inspired Third Quartet.

Fri 28 Aug 11am, The Queen’s Hall | 1hr 45mins approx £30 £27 £22 £19 £11 £8.50 | Fees apply, details p64 | eif.co.uk/arcanto

The Inches Carr Trust

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Photo Philipp Horak

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BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS

RUDOLF BUCHBINDER

BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS

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RUDOLF BUCHBINDER

CONCERT 1

CONCERT 4

CONCERT 7

Plays the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Sonata in F minor Op 2 No 1 Sonata in F sharp Op 78 Sonata in D minor Op 31 No 2 ‘Tempest’ Sonata in E flat Op 31 No 3

Sonata in E flat Op 7 Sonata in D Op 10 No 3 Sonata in E flat Op 81a ‘Les adieux’

Sonata in A Op 2 No 2 Sonata in G Op 31 No 1 Sonata in C Op 53 ‘Waldstein’

Celebrated Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder has been performing complete cycles of the Beethoven piano sonatas since the 1970s, and has been widely acclaimed for his remarkable technical abilities, his exquisite taste and his astonishing, sometimes provocative insights into what form one of the greatest bodies of music ever composed.

Beethoven’s 32 sonatas chart the composer’s life and musical insights from the elegant Classicism of his youth through to the spiritual profundity of his searching, questing final sonatas, written just a few years before his death. From the rippling nocturnal evocations of the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata to the spacious grandeur of the ‘Waldstein’ or the stormy turbulence of the ‘Appassionata’, they contain music of extraordinary intensity and radical vision.

For the 2015 Festival, Rudolf Buchbinder performs Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas across nine concerts, amid the neoclassical splendour of Edinburgh’s sumptuous yet elegant Playfair Library Hall.

Playfair Library Hall 5.00pm, except Concert 9 which starts at 2.30pm on 26 Aug £25 | Fees apply, details p64 Special Offer Buy tickets for all 9 concerts and only pay for 7 (saving over 20%) All concerts 1hr 20mins approx (no intervals)

eif.co.uk/buchbinder Supported by

Supported by

Claire and Mark Urquhart

Sat 8 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven1

Wed 12 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven4

Tue 18 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven7

CONCERT 2

CONCERT 5

CONCERT 8

Sonata in C Op 2 No 3 Sonata in C minor Op 10 No 1 Sonata in G Op 79 Sonata in C sharp minor Op 27 No 2 ‘Moonlight’

Sonata in E Op 14 No 1 Sonata in F Op 54 Sonata in D Op 28 ‘Pastoral’ Sonata in A Op 101

Sonata in G minor Op 49 No 1 Sonata in G Op 49 No 2 Sonata in B flat Op 22 Sonata in F minor Op 57 ‘Appassionata’

Sun 9 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven2

Thu 13 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven5

Tue 25 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven8

CONCERT 3

CONCERT 6

CONCERT 9

Sonata in F Op 10 No 2 Sonata in E minor Op 90 Sonata in B flat Op 106 ‘Hammerklavier’

Sonata in G Op 14 No 2 Sonata in A flat Op 26 Sonata in E flat Op 27 No 1 Sonata in C minor Op 13 ‘Pathétique’

Sonata in E Op 109 Sonata in A flat Op 110 Sonata in C minor Op 111

Mon 10 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven3

Wed 26 Aug, 2.30pm eif.co.uk/beethoven9 Mon 17 Aug eif.co.uk/beethoven6

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FESTIVAL PORTRAITS

FESTIVAL PORTRAITS

BY GAVIN EVANS The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual gathering of some of the greatest creative minds of our time. To celebrate their presence at the heart of the Festival we have commissioned Scottish photographer, Gavin Evans, to create photographic portraits of a cross section of artists from our 2015 programme. These eight striking portraits will represent the Festival over the coming months.

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1 Juliette Binoche 2 Jason Moran 3 Nicola Benedetti 4 Iván Fischer 5 Anne-Sophie Mutter 6 Robert Lepage 7 Simon McBurney 8 Alasdair Gray

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FESTIVAL INSIGHTS

FESTIVAL INSIGHTS CHILLY GONZALES AND KAISER QUARTETT In a lecture demonstration Chilly Gonzales explores the musical theories behind his own songs and timeless compositions from the classical, jazz and pop repertoire. Working with the Kaiser Quartett in an intimate setting, Gonzales illuminates some of the mysteries of music.

FROM CASTLEBRAE WITH LOVE A screening of a film produced by young people from Castlebrae Community High School, inspired by King Creosote’s From Scotland with Love, as part of the Festival’s current arts residency at the school.

Sat 15 Aug 5pm, The Hub | 30mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64

THE BRITISH GOTHIC Journalist, art critic and social commentator Andrew Graham-Dixon explores our fascination with the Gothic. What are the key motifs of the Gothic and how did Gothic works reflect the political, social and cultural contexts in which they were created? Chaired by Octavian Saiu.

Sun 9 Aug 2pm, The Hub | 1hr 15mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64 Mon 17 Aug 2.30pm, The Hub | 1hr 15mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64 Accessible performance, details p66

ANTIGONE AGAIN AND AGAIN Olga Taxidou, Professor of Drama, and Douglas Cairns, Professor of Classics at the University of Edinburgh discuss the significance of Antigone in the context of its own time, and the special attraction of the play and the character for audiences, performers, philosophers and theorists from antiquity to modernity. Chaired by Professor Dorothy Miell, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science.

Tue 11 Aug 2.30pm, The Hub | 1hr 30mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64 Accessible performance, details p66

THE SCOTTISH SUPERNATURAL Andrew Graham-Dixon joins Professor Penny Fielding and Professor Randall Stevenson from the University of Edinburgh to discuss the tradition of the supernatural in Scottish literature, with particular reference to Festival 2015 productions Lanark and Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Chaired by Octavian Saiu.

Mon 17 Aug 4pm, The Hub | 1hr 15mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64 Accessible performance, details p66

In association with

The University of Edinburgh

In association with

The University of Edinburgh

FESTIVAL INSIGHTS

A MASTERCLASS WITH COMPLICITE For performers, theatremakers and other artists In this two-day workshop, celebrated ensemble storytellers Complicite look at the theatrical ensemble: the instinctive communication and adaptation skills needed to survive on stage. The workshop is largely physical and taught through games, movement work and improvisation. Places are limited and by application only. Please apply with covering letter and CV to Emma Hay at emma.hay@eif.co.uk.

Tue 18 and Wed 19 Aug 10am, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, High School Yards | 2 days | Fee £40 per person

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LECTURE – COLIN CURRIE In this unique opportunity for young audiences, percussionist Colin Currie, the Young Musician’s Passport Ambassador, gives the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival Young People’s Lecture. In his presentation Colin explains what motivates him to present new music to new audiences and why he is so passionate about his work as a musician. As part of this lecture Colin demonstrates, using a marimba, his extraordinary talents as a musician and the excitement of percussion.

Fri 21 Aug 3pm, The Hub | 1hr 15mins | £6 | Fees apply, details p64

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL ENCOUNTERS 2015 DEVELOPING ARTISTIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP International Festival Encounters offers ambitious producers, programmers, creative artists and performers from all over the globe the opportunity to develop their artistic entrepreneurship skills, in the context of a major arts festival.

Over five days you will immerse yourself in Festival events, engage with inspiring artists, and reflect critically on your own and others’ artistic practice. A highlight of the programme will be a series of encounters with key figures in the arts, including the Edinburgh International Festival Director, Fergus Linehan. Every element of the programme is tailored towards enabling you to develop the knowledge and skills required to engage with your practice at a higher level.

What participants in International Festival Encounters 2014 said: ‘The quality, breadth and depth of speakers’ experience, and their willingness to share it has been incredibly heartening.’

‘I’m going to recommend this course to every artist and creative professional I know.’

‘It was an incredible opportunity to meet so many people in the industry.’

Fri 21 – Tue 25 Aug, Evolution House, University of Edinburgh Fee £450 | Application deadline Fri 29 May For further details and applications visit www.rcs.ac.uk/shortcourses

Accessible performance, details p66 A partnership between the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh International Festival.

COMPLICITE SYMPOSIUM – THE ENCOUNTER Complicite’s The Encounter is the result of several years of research and development that have seen experts from a huge range of different fields brought together to contribute to the process of devising the work. Here, these contributors are reunited to talk about their own diverse work, and how it fed into the production. Speakers include science writer Rita Carter and the event will finish with a panel discussion led by Complicite artistic director Simon McBurney.

Fri 21 Aug 10am, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, High School Yards | 4hrs approx | £6 | Fees apply, details p64

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For details on all Festival Insights events and to book online visit eif.co.uk/festivalinsights

FESTIVAL INSIGHTS

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL YEAR ROUND EDUCATION WORK The Festival is not just for August, it works year round with schools and the community to deliver a range of classes, workshops and other creative learning experiences.

The Edinburgh International Festival has a three-year residency in the City of Edinburgh’s Castlebrae High school. Working in partnership with the school and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Creative Learning department, the Festival is working on a range of arts initiatives with the school, its pupils and the community it serves.

The Art of Listening project for primary schools, works with professional musicians to introduce pupils to what is often their first experience of classical music. Project supported by Michael Shipley and Philip Rudge.

Now in its 12th year, the Herald Young Critics programme offers older secondary school pupils – many of whom have never engaged with the Festival before – the opportunity to see and review a performance at the Festival. The students are mentored by professional critics, with many of their reviews then printed in The Herald alongside a professional review.

To mark the transition from primary to secondary school, visual arts project Soul Boxes invites pupils to create a special collection of keepsake photo-collages, one for each year of their lives so far, using a rich range of artist materials.

In 2015 the Festival is also running a series of workshops for secondary schools on works drawn from the Festival programme such as The Magic Flute and Antigone.

Supported by

James and Morag Anderson through the Edinburgh International Festival Education Fund

Image iStock

Photo Melanie Sangwine

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FANFARE A city-wide event that harnesses the enormous forces of Scotland’s community of brass bands by working with the Scottish Brass Band Association to present a day of free performances for everyone to enjoy, inspired by the performances of En avant, marche! at the King’s Theatre on 24 and 25 August.

Throughout the day, audiences across the city will be able to share the joy and passion of the live brass band. Everyone will be listening to the same pieces of music at the same time in at least 12 different locations around the city.

The first brass bands, many of which still exist today, were formed in Scotland in the early 1800s and are among the earliest forms of music ensemble in the country. Hundreds of bands grew up in both urban and rural areas as working people seized the opportunity to share their creativity and talent. The brass band was, and still is, an art form that is from, of, and for local communities.

Fanfare aims to capture this spirit of community by inviting everyone in the city to experience the joy of brass band music together.

Information about venues, timings and repertoire will be published on the Festival website eif.co.uk in June.

Sun 23 Aug | Free

BOOKING INFORMATION

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BOOKING INFORMATION HOW TO BOOK Online eif.co.uk Telephone 0131 473 2000 Overseas +44 (0)131 473 2000 In person Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE Thursday 19 March, 10am Priority booking opens for Friends and Patrons, by post and online only.

Saturday 28 March, 10am Booking opens for everyone online, in person, by telephone and post.

Ticket collection Tickets can be collected from Hub Tickets, posted out to your address, printed at home or picked up at the venue on the day, from an hour before the performance. Simply select your preferred option when you make your booking.

TRANSACTION AND POSTAGE FEES

VIRGIN MONEY FIREWORKS CONCERT

If you choose to receive your tickets in the post, you will be charged an additional 80p for postage. A transaction fee of £1 will be added to all bookings.

Due to the popularity of the concert you can take advantage of a limited number of Priority Entry tickets, gaining access to the Gardens a full half hour before the gates open to standard ticket holders.

HUB TICKETS OPENING HOURS

As ever, ticket holders for the Ross Theatre don’t need to rush to secure their spot and so can take their seats once the gates are open to everyone.

Saturday 28 March – Saturday 11 July: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm Monday 13 July – Sunday 26 July: Monday to Sunday 10am to 6pm Monday 27 July – Sunday 30 August: Monday to Saturday 9am to 7.30pm, Sunday 10am to 7.30pm Monday 31 August: 10am to 8.30pm

BUY YOUR TICKETS AT OUR VENUES From Monday 30 March you can buy tickets at the Edinburgh Playhouse, Festival Theatre, King’s Theatre, The Queen’s Hall, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and the Usher Hall.

Tickets can be booked online, by phone or in person. Please note, tickets must be collected from Hub Tickets no later than 8.30pm on Monday 31 August.

See page 48 for further details and ticket information or visit eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks for all information.

PROGRAMME VOUCHERS Buy your Festival event programme vouchers now to get the most from your evening at the theatre or concert, plus you’ll never need to search for change again!

All printed programmes are priced at either £4 or £4.50.

When buying tickets in person or by phone, remember to add a programme voucher for each show, and if buying online remember to add the required number of programme vouchers to your basket.

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BOOKING INFORMATION

TICKET DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS YOUNG PEOPLE, STUDENTS AND YOUNG SCOT CARDHOLDERS – HALF PRICE NOW! Young people can buy any ticket at 50% off on selected performances when booking opens on Saturday 28 March. Offer available to under 18s, students in full-time education and Young Scot cardholders.

HALF PRICE FROM WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 50% off all tickets for selected performances for senior citizens, unemployed people, Equity and MU card holders.

ARE YOU 26 OR UNDER? TICKETS FOR ONLY £8 ON THE DAY Pay only £8 on the day for selected performances, for everyone 26 years old and under. Proof of age is required and you have to buy them in person from Hub Tickets or at the venue.

GROUP BOOKINGS We are delighted to offer great benefits for bookings of 10 or more tickets.

– 10% discount on all full price Festival tickets for selected performances – The opportunity to make flexible ticket reservations – Dedicated Group Sales Staff to assist you Please call +44 (0)131 473 2089 or email groupbookings@eif.co.uk

YOUNG MUSICIAN’S PASSPORT

SPECIAL OFFERS

Our Young Musician’s Passport scheme offers young people from Edinburgh and the Lothians a great opportunity to experience live music and see the world’s greatest artists right here in Edinburgh. If you’re aged 18 or under on 28 March 2015 and play a musical instrument, are part of a choral group or receive music tuition then join up today and you can get one free ticket and up to two half-price tickets for over 35 concerts during this year’s Festival. To find out more and to join visit eif.co.uk/ympassport.

Ballett Zürich and Max Richter Book for both Ballett Zürich and the Max Richter concert and receive a 20% discount.

See pages 27–29 for details.

In association with City of Edinburgh Council’s Arts and Creative Learning Team

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Rudolf Buchbinder Beethoven Sonatas Cycle Buy tickets for all 9 concerts and only pay for 7, saving over 20%. See page 58 for details.

All ticket offers must be booked in the same transaction, and all offers and discounts are subject to availability.

ACCESS

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ACCESS BOOKINGS HOW TO BOOK Telephone +44 (0)131 473 2089 (Textphone users prefix with 18001) In person Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE Information only eif.co.uk/access or access@eif.co.uk.

To enable us to determine your requirements and assist you fully we are unable to offer accessible booking services and discounts online.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on any important information or discounts, please advise Box Office staff at the time of booking which access service you require. We will seat you in the most appropriate area for your needs based on the current availability. Our shows are always popular so we recommend that you book early to avoid disappointment.

DISCOUNTED TICKETS If you are a wheelchair user, have mobility difficulties or have a visual or hearing impairment you can buy seats/spaces in the area of the venue most appropriate to your needs for the lowest (unrestricted view) ticket prices for that performance. Your companion’s ticket will be free. To enable us to determine your requirements and assist you fully we are unable to offer accessible booking services and discounts online.

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES Audio Described Antigone p13 Wed 12 Aug & Fri 21 Aug 7.15pm, Sat 22 Aug 2.15pm 887 p15 Tue 18 Aug 7.15pm Lanark p17 Sat 29 Aug 12.45pm Dragon p22 Sat 15 Aug 6.45pm, Sun 16 Aug 11.45am Seven p23 Sat 22 Aug 7.45pm Ballett Zürich p27 Sat 29 Aug 7.15pm Touch Tours Antigone p13 Wed 12 Aug & Fri 21 Aug 6.15pm, Sat 22 Aug 1.15pm Lanark p17 Sat 29 Aug 11.45am Dragon p22 Sat 15 Aug 5.45pm, Sun 16 Aug 10.45am Ballett Zürich p27 Sat 29 Aug, 6.15pm Captioned Antigone p13 Lanark p17

Wed 12 Aug & Fri 21 Aug 7.30pm, Sat 22 Aug 2.30pm Sat 29 Aug 1pm

British Sign Language

VENUE ACCESSIBILITY All our performances are wheelchair accessible and assistance animals are welcome at our venues. Please pick up an Access Guide or contact us or visit our website for detailed venue access information.

Artlink offers an escort service to help people with disability to enjoy the arts. For more information contact them directly at artlinkedinburgh.co.uk or +44 (0)131 229 3555.

Lanark p17 Young People’s Lecture: Colin Currie p62

Fri 28 Aug 7pm Fri 21 Aug 3pm

Speech-to-Text Reported Antigone again and again p61 The British Gothic p61 The Scottish Supernatural p61

Tue 11 Aug 2.30pm Mon 17 Aug 2.30pm Mon 17 Aug 4pm

FESTIVAL CITY

Photo Clark James

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FESTIVAL CITY EDINBURGH’S SUMMER FESTIVALS 2015

Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival | 17–26 July +44 (0)131 467 5200 edinburghjazzfestival.com Edinburgh Art Festival 30 July – 30 August +44 (0)131 226 6558 edinburghartfestival.com Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 7–29 August +44 (0)131 225 1188 edintattoo.co.uk Edinburgh Festival Fringe 7–31 August Admin: +44 (0)131 226 0026 Box office: +44 (0)131 226 0000 (June to September only) edfringe.com

edinburghfestivalcity.com Information on Edinburgh’s 12 major festivals throughout the year, latest festivals news and help with planning your trip.

Edinburgh International Book Festival | 15–31 August Admin: +44 (0) 131 718 5666 Box office: +44 (0)845 373 5888 (June to September only) edbookfest.co.uk

Edinburgh International Film Festival | 17–28 June +44 (0)131 228 4051 edfilmfest.org.uk

Edinburgh Mela | 29–30 August +44 (0)131 661 7100 edinburgh-mela.co.uk

Official Edinburgh Festivals Map Pick up a copy of the official festivals map, available at most venues around town during the festivals.

VISITING THE CITY...

VisitScotland For all your accommodation and tourism information needs. +44 (0)845 22 55 121 info@visitscotland.com visitscotland.com Festival Beds Accommodation in private homes in the city and surrounding area. +44 (0)131 225 1101 admin@festivalbeds.co.uk festivalbeds.co.uk Traveline Scotland travelinescotland.com National Rail Enquiries nationalrail.co.uk

GETTING AROUND...

We encourage our customers to explore the Festival on foot or by public transport wherever possible.

The following Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams services will take you to Festival venues lothianbuses.com edinburghtrams.com Edinburgh Playhouse: Tram – York Place, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 34, 44, 45, 49 | Festival Theatre, Playfair Library Hall: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 41, 42, 47, 49 | The Hub: 23, 27, 41, 42 (stop on George IV Bridge, 5 minutes’ walk) | King’s Theatre: 10, 11, 15, 16, 23, 24, 27, 36, 45 The Queen’s Hall: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 47, 49 Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh: 1, 10, 11, 15, 16, 24, 34, 36, 47 Usher Hall: 1, 10, 11, 15, 16, 24, 34, 36, 47 | Edinburgh International Conference Centre: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 15, 15, 24, 25, 26, 31, 33, 34, 44, 47

GR EE NS ID E

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PARTNER HOTELS

Edinburgh Playhouse

on map 1 Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian (A3) Princes Street Edinburgh EH1 2AB +44 (0)131 222 8888 thecaledonian. waldorfastoria.com

Tourist Information Centre Edinburgh International Book Festival Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Office

2 The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection Hotels (E1) 2 Greenside Place Edinburgh EH1 3AA +44 (0)131 525 8200 theglasshousehotel.co.uk

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

MORRISON ST

OW

Look out for exclusive offers from our Festival partners at eif.co.uk/partneroffers

5 Festival Square

RR

5 Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa (B3) 1 Festival Square, Edinburgh EH3 9SR +44 (0)131 229 9131 sheratonedinburgh.co.uk

Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovations Playfair Library Hall Festival Theatre

Usher Hall Edinburgh International Conference Centre

GATE

COW

TTE

4 Macdonald Holyrood Hotel (E3) 81 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AU +44 (0)131 550 4500 macdonaldhotels.co.uk/ Holyrood

Festival Fringe Box Office

The Hub Edinburgh’s Festival Centre

PO

3 Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Edinburgh (D4) 11 Bristo Place Edinburgh EH1 1EZ +44 (0)131 247 4900 hotelduvin.com/hotels/ Edinburgh

ILE

AL M ROY

Ross Theatre

The Queen’s Hall

King’s Theatre

VENUES Hub Tickets The Hub, Edinburgh’s Festival Centre, Royal Mile EH1 2NE C3

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh Grindlay Street EH3 9AX

B3

Festival Theatre Nicolson Street EH8 9FT D4

Usher Hall Lothian Road EH1 2EA

B3

The Queen’s Hall Clerk Street EH8 9JG

E5

Ross Theatre Princes Street Gardens EH2 3AA

B3

E1

King’s Theatre Leven Street EH3 9LQ

B5

Edinburgh Playhouse Greenside Place EH1 3AA

Playfair Library Hall Old College, South Bridge EH8 9YL D3 Edinburgh International Conference Centre Morrison Street EH3 8EE

A4

Festival Square Lothian Road

A4

Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovations High School Yards EH1 1LZ

E3

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FESTIVAL 2015 DIARY

VENUE / DATE

FRI 7 AUG

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

SAT 8 AUG

SUN 9 AUG

11am Nash Ensemble (p50)

THE HUB

TUE 11 AUG

WED 12 AUG

11am Tallis Scholars (p50)

11am Modigliani Quartet (p50)

11am Valentina Naforniţa & Roger Vignoles (p50)

2pm Chilly Gonzales and Kaiser Quartett lecture demonstration (p61)

PLAYFAIR LIBRARY HALL

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 2 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 3 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58) 7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm Preview: The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

KING’S THEATRE

7.30pm Preview: Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Sylvie Guillem – Life in Progress (p25)

7.30pm Sylvie Guillem – Life in Progress (p25)

FESTIVAL THEATRE

2.30pm Antigone Again and Again discussion (p61)

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 1 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

EICC

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE EDINBURGH

MON 10 AUG

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 4 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

8pm The Last Hotel (p11)

8pm The Last Hotel (p11)

8pm The Last Hotel (p11)

9pm Le Concert Spirituel Hervé Niquet conductor (p38)

7.30pm The Rake’s Progress Scottish Chamber Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis conductor (p38)

7.30pm Sylvie Guillem – Life in Progress (p25)

8pm Preview: The Last Hotel (p11)

8pm The Last Hotel (p11)

10.30pm The Harmonium Project (outside Usher Hall in Festival Square) (p5)

7.30pm The Opening Concert BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles conductor (p37)

8pm Celtic Dialogues (p37)

9pm Rameau & Charpentier Scottish Chamber Orchestra William Christie conductor (p37)

9.30pm Chilly Gonzales & Kaiser Quartett (p33)

9.30pm Chilly Gonzales & Kaiser Quartett (p33)

10.30pm Robert Glasper Trio (p33)

THE QUEEN’S HALL EVENING THE USHER HALL CONCERTS THE HUB SESSIONS

FESTIVAL 2015 DIARY THU 13 AUG

FRI 14 AUG

SAT 15 AUG

11am Angela Hewitt (p51)

11am Budapest Festival Orchestra Soloists (p51)

SUN 16 AUG

MON 17 AUG

TUE 18 AUG

WED 19 AUG

11am Trio Zimmermann (p51)

11am Sarah Connolly & Malcolm Martineau (p51)

11am Richard Egarr (p52)

11am Iestyn Davies & Ensemble Guadagni (p52)

5pm From Castlebrae With Love film screening (p61)

2.30pm The British Gothic lecture (p61) 4pm The Scottish Supernatural discussion (p61)

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 5 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58) 7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

2.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

2.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

2.30pm & 7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7pm The Marriage of Figaro Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer conductor (p9)

7pm The Marriage of Figaro Budapest Festival Orchestra Ivan Fischer conductor (p9)

2pm & 7pm Dragon Vox Motus / National Theatre of Scotland / Tianjin People’s Arts Theatre (p22)

12noon & 4pm Dragon Vox Motus / National Theatre of Scotland / Tianjin People’s Arts Theatre (p22)

7pm The Marriage of Figaro Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer conductor (p9) 7pm Dragon Vox Motus / National Theatre of Scotland / Tianjin People’s Arts Theatre (p22)

2.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 6 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 7 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

2.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm Lo Real / Le Réel / The Real Israel Galván (p26) 8pm TAO Dance Theatre (p30)

8pm TAO Dance Theatre (p30)

8pm Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner Reconstructed by Untitled Projects (p21) 8pm Symphonie fantastique Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor (p38)

7.30pm MacMillan & Sibelius Royal Scottish National Orchestra Edward Gardner conductor (p39)

8pm Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 01 Vasily Petrenko conductor (p39)

10.30pm Jason Moran (p33)

10.30pm From Scotland With Love King Creosote (p33)

9.30pm From Scotland With Love King Creosote (p33)

8pm Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 02 Vasily Petrenko conductor (p39)

8pm Mozart’s Requiem Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer conductor (p41)

7.30pm Philharmonia Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor (p41)

10.30pm Anna Calvi & Heritage Orchestra (p33)

10.30pm Anna Calvi & Heritage Orchestra (p33)

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FESTIVAL 2015 DIARY

VENUE / DATE

THU 20 AUG

FRI 21 AUG

SAT 22 AUG

THE QUEEN’S HALL SERIES

11am James Gilchrist (p52)

11am Colin Currie & Friends (p52)

11am Christine Brewer & Roger Vignoles (p54)

THE HUB

SUN 23 AUG

MON 24 AUG

TUE 25 AUG

11am Sol Gabetta & Bertrand Chamayou (p54)

11am St. Lawrence String Quartet (p54)

3pm Colin Currie Young People’s Lecture demonstration (p62)

PLAYFAIR LIBRARY HALL EICC

5pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 8 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58) 2.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

2.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

2.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

7.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

KING’S THEATRE

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

7.30pm Antigone (p13)

2.30pm & 7.30pm Antigone (p13)

FESTIVAL THEATRE

7.30pm Lo Real / Le Réel / The Real Israel Galván (p26)

7.30pm Lo Real / Le Réel / The Real Israel Galván (p26)

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE EDINBURGH THE QUEEN’S HALL EVENING

8pm Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner Reconstructed by Untitled Projects (p21)

8pm Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner Reconstructed by Untitled Projects (p21)

4pm & 8pm Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner Reconstructed by Untitled Projects (p21)

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE

8pm Seven Ballett am Rhein Royal Scottish National Orchestra (p24)

8pm Seven Ballett am Rhein Royal Scottish National Orchestra (p24)

8pm Seven Ballett am Rhein Royal Scottish National Orchestra (p24)

8pm Lang Lang (p41)

8pm Berlioz’s Grande messe des morts Philharmonia Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor (p43)

THE HUB SESSIONS

10.30pm Anna Calvi & Heritage Orchestra (p33)

7.30pm 887 Ex Machina (p15) 8pm En avant, marche! les ballets C de la B NTGent (p12)

8pm En avant, marche! les ballets C de la B NTGent (p12)

8pm FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) (p31)

7pm Preview: Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

THE USHER HALL CONCERTS

2.30pm The Encounter Complicite (p19)

9.30pm Oneohtrix Point Never Magnetic Rose (p35)

6pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

1pm & 7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

8pm Max Richter BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (p29) 5pm H.M.S. Pinafore Scottish Opera Richard Egarr conductor (p43)

8pm Mitsuko Uchida (p43)

7.30pm European Union Youth Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda conductor (p45)

FESTIVAL 2015 DIARY WED 26 AUG

THU 27 AUG

FRI 28 AUG

SAT 29 AUG

SUN 30 AUG

11am Leonidas Kavakos & Yuja Wang (p54)

11am Zehetmair Quartet (p56)

11am Arcanto Quartet (p56)

11am Matthias Goerne & Daniil Trifonov (p56)

3pm Family Concert (p47)

8pm Murmel Murmel Volksbühne Berlin (p18)

3pm & 8pm Murmel Murmel Volksbühne Berlin (p18)

3pm Murmel Murmel Volksbühne Berlin (p18)

7.15pm The Magic Flute Komische Oper Berlin (p7)

7.15pm The Magic Flute Komische Oper Berlin (p7)

5pm The Magic Flute Komische Oper Berlin (p7)

7.15pm The Magic Flute Komische Oper Berlin (p7)

1pm & 7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

1pm & 7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

7pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

7.30pm Ballett Zürich (p27)

7.30pm Ballett Zürich (p27)

7.30pm Ballett Zürich (p27)

8pm Sufjan Stevens (p31)

7.30pm San Francisco Symphony 01 Michael Tilson Thomas conductor (p45)

7.30pm San Francisco Symphony 02 Michael Tilson Thomas conductor (p46)

8pm Beethoven’s Missa solemnis Scottish Chamber Orchestra Robin Ticciati conductor (p46)

7.30pm Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring London Symphony Orchestra Valery Gergiev conductor (p46)

9.30pm Alexi Murdoch (p35)

9.15pm Wave Movements Scottish Chamber Orchestra (p35)

10pm Round-Up Yarn/Wire (p35)

MON 31 AUG

2.30pm Beethoven Piano Sonatas 9 Rudolf Buchbinder (p58)

8pm Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons Anne-Sophie Mutter Mutter’s Virtuosi (p45)

1pm Lanark Citizens Theatre (p17)

PRINCES STREET GARDENS 9.30pm Virgin Money Fireworks Concert Scottish Chamber Orchestra Garry Walker conductor (p48)

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EIF.CO.UK

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+44 (0)131 473 2000