Eifbrochure 2014
Eifbrochure 2014
Eifbrochure 2014
The single most important thing you can do with this brochure when you have nished with it, is recycle it.
Contents
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Support us
Show your passion for the Festival
The Festival has been bringing unparalleled performances and the nest artists to audiences from Edinburgh and around the world for 67 years. Presenting a Festival of this scale, ambition and quality as well as our year-round education and outreach programme is costly and with ticket sales covering less than one-third of our annual operating budget, your donations are vital to the Festivals continued success. We are a registered charity, and every donation helps to sustain us, ensuring that we continue to make the Festival a bold and unique celebration of artistic excellence accessible to the widest possible audience. There are many ways to contribute, from adding a small donation to your ticket order to joining our Friends and Patrons programme from just 60 a year or remembering us in your will. Your support really does make a difference, enabling us to stage a Festival which is the envy oftheworld.
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04 Festival 2014 Supporters They help make the Festival happen 06 Opera Trojan horses, principles and pacism 10 Theatre Compelling history, lm noirseductresses, puppets, poets and elephants 22 Dance From the rainbow nation to the Mahabharata 30 Cultural Explorers Wondrous music, reimagined lm footage and a live installation 34 The Opening Concert Oliver Knussen conducts Debussy
To explore ways of supporting the Festival go to eif.co.uk/support-us or phone us on +44 (0)131 473 2065
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Sweet Mambo Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch Photo Jong Duk Woo Charity No SC004694
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35 Music The nest orchestras, ensembles and soloists 46 Greyfriars Atmospheric early evening concerts 48 The Queens Hall Series Lively morning recitals tostart your Festival day
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Festival Merchandise
As ofcial broadcast partner, BBC Radio 3 brings the Festival to those who would otherwise miss out. Through live and future broadcasts, and entertaining and insightful coverage, the Edinburgh International Festival can be enjoyed throughout the UK and across the world thanks to this visionary partnership. Full details at bbc.co.uk/radio3 Check out the Festivals exclusive new range of t-shirts, mugs, keyrings and bags, among its other popular ranges of clothing, and buy online now. Scotlands beautiful bluebell features across this range, making it the perfect souvenir. eif.co.uk/souvenirs
Glasgow 2014
The season of work from South Africa at Festival 2014 is part of the Glasgow 2014 Culture Programme and has been supported by Culture 2014, the City of Edinburgh Council and the Department of Arts and Culture, South Africa. It represents a unique partnership which ensures that Edinburghs Festivals are at the heart of the national celebrations around the Commonwealth Games. Culture 2014 is a national programme that showcases dance, theatre, music, visual arts, comedy and much more in the run up to and after the Commonwealth Games. The Culture Programme is a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland. www.glasgow2014.com/culture
Our Festival owes its origins to a belief in the transformational power of culture. Created in 1947 to provide a platform for the owering of the human spirit through the beauty of art as an alternative to forces of destruction and devastation, the Festival creates an opportunity to celebrate the best of humanity between peoples of all nations. Presented almost exactly 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, Festival 2014 is a compelling exploration of the impact of history, most especially during periods of warfare and unrest, and the immense inuence exerted by a powerful few on issues of national identity, the forging of our cultures, and the lives of people throughoutthe world. Our historical perspective stretches back many millennia to epic battles between the ancient civilisations of Greece and Troy; to depictions of the much-feared gure of the armed man in the sacred music of medieval Europe; and at home here in Scotland among the treachery and combat between families in pursuit of the Scottish crown in the 15th century. We explore homages to heroism and the transcendence of tragedy from artists as diverse as Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Gabriele DAnnunzio, Franz Josef Haydn, Gabriel Garca Lorca, Wilfred Owen, Olivier Messiaen, Giovanni Palestrina, ErichMariaRemarque and Virgil.
It is often in the darkest of times that artists can be at their most sublime. Festival 2014 is replete with works that defy the immediate circumstances of their creation; lines of poetry that radiate exquisite beauty beyond muddy trenches; or melodies that make the heart soar above cities under siege; taken together, and experienced with the unique intensity offered by Edinburgh in August, these words and songs, gestures and images, offer the truest glimpses of optimism andtranscendence. In a year in which Scotland is proud to host the Commonwealth Games, the Festival also features artists and work from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and especially South Africa, this year celebrating the 20th anniversary of its democracy; all countries which share aspects of our history and traditions. Great art offers a unique space in which to contemplate, or escape, the monumental challenges of humanity. Join us on a potent and poignant journey through inspiring stories of optimism, strength and deance as we recollect those ashes in time when civilisations have been shaken to their core. Jonathan Mills
In August 2012 The Scottish Parliament hosted the rst ever Edinburgh Visit eif.co.uk International Culture Summit as part of an innovative partnership between the Edinburgh International Festival, the UK and Scottish Governments and the British Council. The extraordinary cultural energy of Edinburgh in August formed a unique backdrop for agathering An Accessible Festival for All of Culture Ministers and ofcials from 33 nations who met artists and thinkers from around the world for a series of debates and Look out for these logos in the brochure for accessible performances. conversations about forging international dialogue through culture. See page 67 for details of discounts and page 65 for venue accessinformation. The second Summit will be hosted at The Scottish Parliament between 10 and 12 August 2014. Plenary sessions will be webcast, with some Audio Described tickets for the Gallery of The Scottish Parliament available to the public. Touch Tour For further details visit www.culturesummit.com British Sign Language Captioned performance Speech-to-Text Reported
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Principal Donors
American Friends of the Edinburgh International Festival The Directors Circle Edinburgh International Festival Benefactors Edinburgh International Festival Endowment Fund
Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Culture.pl Department of Arts and Culture, South Africa The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, London The Embassy of the United States of America, London The Government of Flanders Institut franais dEcosse The Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh Italian Embassy in London The Ministry of Culture, Taiwan The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Qubec Government Ofce, London Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Edinburgh Taipei Representative Ofce in the UK Taipei Representative Ofce in the UK, Edinburgh Ofce The United States Consulate General, Edinburgh
Benefactor
James and Morag Anderson Geoff and Mary Ball Ewan and Christine Brown Roxane Clayton Joscelyn Fox Gavin and Kate Gemmell Frank Hitchman Niall and Carol Lothian Donald and Louise MacDonald 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 Jonathan Tidswell Claire and Mark Urquhart Mr Hedley G Wright Zachs-Adam Family
Shields and Carol Henderson Andr 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 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 Donald and Brenda Rennie Sir Duncan Rice and Lady Rice Mr Andrew and Mrs Carolyn Richmond Ross Roberts Fiona and Ian Russell Charles Smith Robin and Sheila Wight Mark and Ulrike Wilson Ruth Woodburn Neil and Philippa Woodcock Mrs Iren M Young And others who prefer to remain anonymous
Festival Partner
Bank of Scotland Maclay Murray & Spens LLP Shell U.K. Limited Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh The Caledonian
Corporate Associates
Hosting & Network Services Partner Website Partner Digital Media Partner
A.G. Barr p.l.c. Alba Water ANTA Appetite Direct Cullen Property Dimensions (Scotland) Ltd
Platinum Reserve
J Attias Richard Burns Jo and Alison Elliot Aileen and Stephen Nesbitt
Project Grants Supported through the Scottish Governments Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund
University Partner
Hotel Partner
The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection Hotels HEINEKEN Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Edinburgh Justerini & Brooks Kyloe Restaurant & Grill Medicalternative Omni Centre Edinburgh Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish Beverage Services Springbank Distillers Ltd
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 Coulseld Tom and Alison Cunningham Sue and Andy Doig Claire Enders Mr and Mrs Ted W Frison Gillian Gaines Celia F Goodhew Raymond and Anita Green George and Ann Gwilt David and Judith Halkerston Kenneth Harrold
Production Sponsors
Event Supporters
National Union of Journalists Scotland and Edinburgh Branches University and College Union Scotland Musicians Union Scotland and Northern Ireland Educational Institute of Scotland Edinburgh Branch and EIS University Lecturers Association Unison Lothian Health and City of Edinburgh Branches Unite Edinburgh Not For Prot Branch Edinburgh Trades Union Council
MAGAZINE
Principal Supporters
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Edinburgh Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh Consulate General of Spain Consulate of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Edinburgh
Legacies
Vincent George Gale MRCVS Miss Sybil Laurie McKillop Christina Clark Young
Edinburgh International Festival Society is registered as a company in Scotland (No SC024766) and as a Scottish Charity (No SC004694) Registered Address: The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE
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Opera
Sung in French with English supertitles Ene Sergei Semishkur (28 & 30 August) Cassandre Ekaterina Gubanova (28 & 30 August) Mlada Khudolei (29 August) Didon Ekaterina Semenchuk (28 & 30 August) Anna Markarova (29 August) Chorbe Alexei Markov (28 & 30 August) Vladislav Sulimsky (29 August) Narbal Mikhail Petrenko (28 & 30 August) Yuri Vorobiev (29 August) Valery Gergiev Conductor Yannis Kokkos Director Love and war; obedience and loyalty; fate and freedom. Berliozs visionary Les Troyens is opera on an epic scale, and deals with some of mankinds profoundest questions in a work of exceptional power and sensual lyricism. From the Trojans dutiful acceptance of the famous wooden horse into their beseiged city through to Enes ight to Carthage and beyond, the opera presents an awe-inspiring vision of the ancient world, in music both monumental and intimate, glittering and solemn. Les Troyens shows Berlioz at the height of his dramatic powers, in a work whose scale and ambition approach those of Wagners Ring cycle. Valery Gergiev conducts the exceptional performers of his Mariinsky Opera, last heard in the acclaimed production of Strausss Die Frau ohne Schatten at Festival 2011, in a spectacular, colourful production by the celebrated Greek-born director Yannis Kokkos.
Supported by Thursday 28 Saturday 30 August 5.00pm Festival Theatre
Opera
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Les Troyens
HECTOR BERLIOZ LIBRETTO BY HECTOR BERLIOZ AFTER VIRGIL
Tickets* 95 75 60 50 35 30 20 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 5 hours 30 minutes approximately Two intervals include a 45-minute supper break. See page 67 for details on how to pre-book atheatresupper. eif.co.uk/troyens
Production sponsors
Mariinsky Opera
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Opera
Opera
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Owen Wingrave
BENJAMIN BRITTEN LIBRETTO BY MYFANWY PIPER AFTER HENRY JAMES
Aldeburgh Music
Sung in English with English supertitles Owen Wingrave Ross Ramgobin Spencer Coyle Jonathan Summers Lechmere Isaiah Bell Miss Wingrave Susan Bullock Mrs Coyle Samantha Crawford Mrs Julian Janis Kelly Kate Catherine Backhouse General Sir Philip Wingrave Richard Berkeley-Steele Ballad singer James Way Mark Wigglesworth Conductor Neil Bartlett Director Simon Daw Set designer Sue Willmington Costume designer Chris Davey Lighting designer Struan Leslie Choreographer Britten-Pears Orchestra
How strongly would you value your principles, evenif they brought you into conict with your family and friends? Would you put yourself in danger to demonstrate what you believe? In 1968, as protests against the Vietnam War dominated the news, Britten responded to a BBC commission for a television opera by returning to a theme that had haunted him since the 1930s pacism. Using a libretto by Myfanwy Piper his collaborator on The Turn of the Screw and Death inVenice Owen Wingrave sets Henry Jamess story of one troubled young mans ght to escape from his familys militarism to music of angry intensity and desolate beauty. This new production by the acclaimed director and author Neil Bartlett offers a rare chance to reassess this controversial work. A glorious cast mixes leading professional singers Susan Bullock, Janis Kelly, Richard Berkeley-Steele and Jonathan Summers with emerging talent from the BrittenPears Young Artist Programme including Ross Ramgobin and Isaiah Bell. Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Britten-Pears Orchestra in David Matthewss chamber version of the score. A co-production between the Aldeburgh Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival
Friday 15 & Sunday 17 August 7.30pm Kings Theatre Tickets* 35 28 25 22.50 20 15 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/owenwingrave Sunday 17 August 6.15pm 7.15pm
Supported by
a masterpiece
THE GUARDIAN
Image EIF
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Bold and irreverent storytelling explores the complex character of this colourful Stewart king a poet, a lover, a law-maker but also the product of a harsh political system. James I of Scotland was captured when he was only 13 and became King of Scots in an English prison. Eighteen years later hes nally delivered back home with a ransom on his head and a new English bride. Hes returning to a poor nation, the royal coffers are empty and his nobles are a pack of wolves ready to tear him apart at the rst sign of weakness. James is determined to bring the rule of law to aland riven by warring factions, but that struggle will force him to make terrible choices if he is to save himself, his Queen and the crown.
World Premiere
National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
Performed in English Laurie Sansom Director Jon Bausor Designer Cast includes Cameron Barnes, Daniel Cahill, BlytheDuff, Peter Forbes (James I and James II only), Soe Grbl (JamesIII only), Sarah Higgins, Stephanie Hyam, James McArdle (James I only), Rona Morison, Andrew Rothney, Mark Rowley, Jamie Sives (JamesI and James III only) and Fiona Wood
The James Plays James I, James II and James III are a new cycle of history plays by award-winning playwright Rona Munro. This vividly imagined trilogy brings to life three generations of Stewart Kings who ruled Scotland in the tumultuous 15th century. Each play stands alone as a unique vision of a country tussling with its past and future; viewed together they create a complex and compelling narrative on Scottish culture and nationhood full of playful wit and boisterous theatricality. A co-production by the National Theatre of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of GreatBritain
Photo Barbara Agnew
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In the second part of Rona Munros thrilling trilogy, innocent games merge with murderous intent in a violent royal playground of shifting realities and paranoia. Crowned King of Scots when only eight years old, James II is the prize in a vicious game between the countrys most powerful families. Seen through a childs eyes, the Scottish court is a world of monsters with sharp teeth and long knives. Growing up alone, abandoned by his mother and separated from his sisters, James II is little better than a puppet. There is only one relationship he can trust his growing friendship with another lonely boy, William, the future Earl of Douglas. But the independence and power of young adulthood brings James into an even more threatening world. He has to ght the warring nobles who still want to control him, he has to make brutal choices about the people he loves best, he has to struggle to keep his tenuous grip on the security of the crown and on his sanity while the nightmares and monsters of his childhood rise up again with new and murderous intent.
Tickets* 35 25 20 15
*Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special Offer Buy tickets for all three plays and save 20% (excludes Previews)
Previews
James I: Tuesday 5 August 7.30pm James II: Thursday 7 August 7.30pm James III: Saturday 9 August 7.30pm Tickets* 15 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Parts 1, 2 and 3 each 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/jamesplays Please note these performances contain strong language and nudity and may not be suitable for children Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 August 7.30pm 6.15pm Saturday 16 August 12 noon, 4.00pm and 8.15pm Sunday 17 August 12 noon, 4.00pm and 8.15pm 11.45am, 3.45pm and 8.00pm 7.15pm
The War
World Premiere
Pankov possesses a unique ability to hear literature and the world around him as auniverse of sounds
RUSSKAYA GAZETA
Like James III himself, the nal instalment of Rona Munros extraordinary trilogy is colourful, brash and unpredictable. It turns its eye on the women of the royal court, both lowly and high-born, who prove to be its beating heart. Irresistible, charismatic, a man of fashion and culture, James III is aman with big dreams and no budget to realise any of them. But hes convinced a true king should never allow such minor details to deprive his people of the magnicent European-style court they deserve. Obsessed with grandiose schemes that his nation can ill afford, James is loved and loathed in dangerously unstable proportions. But Scotlands future will be decided by the woman who loves him best of all, his resourceful and resilient wife, Queen Margaret of Denmark. As the nation thunders dangerously close to regicide and civil war, her true love and clear vision offer the only protection that can save a fragile monarchy and rescue a struggling people. But the cost for Margaret herself may be too high
1913. A group of young people celebrate Christmas in Paris. They share interests, a love for the arts and a deep aversion to common morals. Aninternational circle of poets and artists, they wish to establish new trends in painting and literature, believing that Beauty will save the world. One of the hottest topics of conversation is war. Some think any war is the greatest catastrophe, while others think war is a necessary evil, destroying old ideas and ideals, clearing the way for new ones. When war becomes a painful and terrifying reality less than a year later, they are forced to drastically re-examine their principles and beliefs. Through his innovative sound drama technique, where music, movement and rhythm heighten the dramatic action, Russian director Vladimir Pankovs new production explores the deep psychological and physical impact of war and of how through art we can help provide avision for the future. A co-production between the Chekhov International Theatre Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival
Saturday 9 Monday 11 August 8.00pm Sunday 10 August 3.00pm Kings Theatre Tickets* 32 25 17 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately
Supported by
eif.co.uk/thewar
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Eyres exquisitely understated performance is a masterclass in how tomake something very hard look effortless
THE GUARDIAN
Minetti
BY THOMAS BERNHARD
Performed in English Minetti Peter Eyre Tom Cairns Director and designer
A bitter fool King Lear The lobby of a grand hotel, New Years Eve. A snow storm rages. Minetti, a long-forgotten actor, arrives in great spirits to discuss his comeback as King Lear with a theatre director. While he waits patiently in the hotel lobby, Minetti's obsessive personality reveals itself in a series of strange encounters with other guests. He rails against outrageous fortune and unfullled ambitions, often colliding with crowds of young hotel guests who frequently burst in to celebrate New Years Eve. As with King Lear, the storm which rages outside reects his turbulent emotions until he nally nds peace and resolution. Director Tom Cairns brings Thomas Bernhards rarely performed masterpiece to life, in a moving portrait of a once celebrated actor now isolated and forgotten. Starring Peter Eyre as Minetti, the production is a collaboration with two of the worlds great dramatic institutions: the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, and The Juilliard School, New York, whose young actors provide an anarchic presence throughout. An Edinburgh International Festival production
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich is poignant, heart-warming, beautiful, disarming, full of vulnerability and sly humour, questioning who has the right to tell a story and who has the right to be heard. A young man is inspired to create a play about Ganesh, the Hindu god of overcoming obstacles. In his story, the elephant-headed god travels through Nazi Germany to reclaim the swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol. But as the play unfolds the actors themselves begin to feel the weighty responsibility of storytellers, and the director must nd the strength to overcome the difculties in his own life, and defend his play and his collaborators against an overbearing colleague. Back to Back Theatre creates new forms of contemporary theatre from the perspectives of a unique ensemble of actors, giving voice to social and political issues that speak to everyone.
Saturday 16 Monday 18 August 8.00pm Sunday 17 August 2.30pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh Tickets* 32 25 21 17 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/minetti U.S. Embassy, London Supported by
Please note this performance contains strong language and adult themes that might not be suitable for children.
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FRONT
A POLYPHONIC PERFORMANCE BASED ON ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT BY ERICH MARIA REMARQUE, UNDER FIRE BY HENRI BARBUSSE AND CONTEMPORARY SOURCES ADAPTED BY LUK PERCEVAL, CHRISTINA BELLINGEN AND STEVEN HEENE
Thalia Theater
Performed in German, French, Flemish and English withEnglishsupertitles Luk Perceval Director Annette Kurz Staging Ilse Vandenbussche Costume designer Ferdinand Frsch Music Mark van Denesse Lighting designer Philip Bussmann Video Christina Bellingen and Steven Heene Dramaturgy
Illustration Clifford Harper
I see that people are forced against each other and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay. I see that the smartest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it all even more sophisticated and longer lasting. Paul Bumer, German soldier in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Belgium 191418. Despite its neutrality, this small country has been, for over four years, the battleeld for foreign powers vying for supremacy in a horrifying conict seemingly without end. On the Western Front, German, Flemish, French and English lie facing each other in the trenches.
Young men who went to war with a love of life are being traumatised by their experiences of a brutal conict that will soon be known as the primal catastrophe of the 20th century the First World War. The Great War. In four languages and from four different perspectives, Flemish director Luk Perceval returns to the Festival for the rst time since 2004s Andromache. An international ensemble combines Remarques moving depiction of German soldiers extreme mental and physical stress with Flemish contemporary sources to explore the horror from both sides of the trenches. A co-production by Thalia Theater, Hamburg, andNTGent
Friday 22 Tuesday 26 August 7.00pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh Tickets* 32 25 21 17 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 3 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/front
Supported by
Sensational
THE GUARDIAN ON LUK PERCEVALS ANDROMACHE
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Helen Lawrence
CONCEIVED BY STAN DOUGLAS WRITTEN BY CHRIS HADDOCK STORY BY STAN DOUGLAS AND CHRIS HADDOCK
Canadian Stage
Performed in English Stan Douglas Director Sarah Garton Stanley Associate director Rachel Ditor and Matthew Jocelyn Dramaturgy Kevin McAllister Set designer Nancy Bryant Costume designer Rob Sondergaard Lighting designer John Gzowski Sound designer
Vancouver, 1948: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony all take a turn in a time of fear, paranoia, rage and desperation. The police make pacts with the gangsters who run the whorehouses and gambling joints as Vancouver reinvents itself in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Sunday 24 Tuesday 26 August 8.00pm Monday 25 August 3.00pm Kings Theatre Tickets* 32 25 17 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details.
A stranger arrives to settle an account of her own, struggling through a fog of psychosis, pills and 1 hours 30 minutes approximately booze to track her target from one end of the city tothe other and leaving a trail of murder in her wake. eif.co.uk/helenlawrence Is she victim or perpetrator, seduced or seductress? Tuesday 26 August Has she arrived to ee her past or seekrevenge? What she nds is a treacherous, shape-shifting 6.45pm 7.45pm landscape of police and pimps, soldiers and refugees, damaged goods and ghostly lovers 8.00pm allscrambling to nd their feet in the shifting sands. A cinematic stage production from world-renowned visual artist and lmmaker Stan Douglas and acclaimed screenwriter and producer Chris Haddock, Helen Lawrence is inspired by postwar lm noir and intertwines theatre, visual art, live-action lming and computer-generated historical backgrounds for a groundbreaking multimediathriller. A co-production by Canadian Stage, Arts Club Theatre Company, Vancouver, The Banff Centre, Stan Douglas Inc, Festival TransAmriques and Canadas National Arts Centre Please note this performance contains strong language that may not be suitable for children.
Supported by
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stunningly theatrical multimedia piece that drives home the atrocity known as apartheid By turns chilling and hilarious, brutal and forgiving, the show casts a surreal light on the heart of darkness and still manages to leave you with hope.
THE WASHINGTON POST
With its dark and sardonic wit, documentary footage, spectacular animation, poignant puppetry and superb actors, Ubu and the Truth Commission draws on both the historical archive of the hearings of South Africas Truth and Reconciliation Commission and on the dramatic gure of Ubu Roi, a licentious buffoon created by the playwright Alfred Jarry. Ubu and the Truth Commission was the third in a trilogy of plays that brought William Kentridge and Handspring Puppet Company, who later created War Horse, to worldwide acclaim. Revived to mark the 20th anniversary of democracy in South Africa, this metaphorical tale of marital betrayal affords glimpses into the devastating complexities of apartheid. Poignant testimonies that once formed part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings are given by characters played by Handsprings puppets. With animation by director William Kentridge, the cast includes actors Busi Zokufa and Dawid Minnaar as Ma and Pa Ubu. A co-production by the Edinburgh International Festival, The Taipei Arts Festival and Taipei Culture Foundation, Festival de Marseille _ danse et arts multiples, Onassis Cultural Centre, Cal Performances Berkeley and BOZAR, Brussels
Thursday 28 Saturday 30 August 8.00pm Saturday 30 August 2.30pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh Tickets* 32 25 21 17 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/ubu Saturday 30 August 1.15pm 2.30pm 2.15pm
Supported by
Please note this performance contains graphic images of violence that may not be suitable for children
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Dance
Dance
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Inala
World Premiere
Mark Baldwin Choreographer Joseph Shabalala, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ella Spira Composers Ladysmith Black Mambazo Music Includes dancers from Rambert and The Royal Ballet Produced by Sisters Grimm
Sunday 10 Tuesday 12 August 8.00pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets* 32 28 23 18 12 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special Offer Buy for Inala and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert and save 20%. 1 hour 35 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/inala
Inala meaning abundance of goodwill is a muscular and beautiful blend of South African and Western cultures in an exhilarating celebration oftherainbow nation. Choreographer Mark Baldwin unites Zulu traditions of song and dance with Western classical ballet, contemporary dance and music in one breathtaking performance. This unique collaboration brings together a stellar company including dancers from The Royal Ballet and Rambert with music performed live by Grammy Award-winning South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In over 50 years of joyous and uplifting musicmaking, Ladysmith Black Mambazos past successes include working with Paul Simon on his album Graceland, featuring the intricate rhythms and harmonies of its native South African musical traditions. Performed live by the choir and aninstrumental ensemble, Inalas brand new score is acollaboration between classical composer EllaSpira and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Supported by
Described by Nelson Mandela as South Africas cultural ambassadors, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been delivering exuberantly energetic performances around the globe for decades. To complement its collaboration on Inala, it gives a special one-off concert that offers the chance to experience one of the worlds nest vocal groups.
The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets* 30 25 20 15 12 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special Offer Buy for Inala and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert and save 20%.
Undulating rhythmic phrases that push and pull harmonising that is both ethereal and earthy
WORLD MUSIC, UK, ON LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO
Combining traditional Zulu musical styles with gospel 2 hours approximately music, it contrasts powerful, passionate choruses eif.co.uk/ladysmith with soft, soulful sweetness in quieter music, bringing a symphonic richness to its a cappella performances, all delivered with an infectious sense of rhythm and amboyant dance moves.
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I AM
MAU
Lemi Ponifasio Choreography, concept, design and direction Following his acclaimed performances of Tempest: Without a Body and Birds with Skymirrors during Festival 2010, Lemi Ponifasio returns with another stunning work, exploring the legacy of the First World War and the seismic impact the conict had around theworld. Through an intoxicating mix of extreme physicality, poetic movement, striking imagery and a dynamic interplay of light and darkness, I AM takes inspiration from artist Colin McCahons groundbreaking painting Victory over Death 2, exploring identity, conict and the power of art to transform and elevate us in counterbalance to the horrors wroughtbywar. New Zealands most innovative international contemporary dance and theatre company, led by one of the most distinctive choreographers working today, MAU tackle issues of politics, race, tradition and mythology through a dynamic combination of ideas and inuences, performed by a community of dancers drawn from all walks of life. A co-production by Festival dAvignon, Ruhrtriennale International Festival of the Arts, the Edinburgh International Festival and Auckland ArtsFestival Please note this performance contains nudity
Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 August 8.00pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets* 32 28 23 18 12 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 50 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/iam
Supported by
Photo MAU
both Tempest: Without a Body and Birds with Skymirrors touched viewers in a very deep and unexpected way, and I for one will never forget them.
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Gnosis
Now when (Khan) dances, he doesnt just tell his own story he tells allour stories.
THE ARTS DESK ON DESH, 2011
Drawing from sources both ancient and modern, Gnosis is inspired in part by the Hindu epic the Mahabharata and the story of Gandhari, the wife of the blind king who blindfolds herself for life to share his journey. As her family becomes embroiled in an internecine war, Gnosis explores notions of inner knowledge and clouded vision, experiencing darkness while being blind to light. One of the worlds most original and exciting dance artists, Akram Khans inimitable style combines classical Indian Kathak dance with his contemporary dance roots. Pursuing the idea of the knowledge within, Gnosis is an exploration of the inner and outer battles of characters, the human and the godly on a pathway of transformation culminating inashattering conclusion. Khan is accompanied on stage by an ensemble of exceptional musicians from around the world and acclaimed dancer Fang-Yi Sheu from Taiwan. This revival of Gnosis has been commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival.
Tuesday 19 Thursday 21 August 8.00pm Kings Theatre Tickets* 32 25 17 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 35 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/gnosis Thursday 21 August 7.45pm
Ruth Little Dramaturgy Fabiana Piccioli Lighting and set designer Kimie Nakano and Kei Ito Costume designers
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Sweet Mambo
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch Director and choreographer Peter Pabst Set designer Marion Cito Costume designer Matthias Burkert and Andreas Eisenschneider Musical collaboration Marion Cito, Thusnelda Mercy and Robert Sturm Collaboration Lutz Frster Artistic director Dirk Hesse Managing director The relationships between women and men seduction, happiness and misery, physical and mental fragility are explored in the inimitable style of the great Pina Bausch. In each life-afrming scene dancers tell stories, irt, ght, decry, seduce and abandon each other. Revelling in lifes inherent humour, Pina Bauschs unique concept of dance theatre creates beautiful, ambiguous imagery that mixes glamour and movement with a raft of recurring props from water and fruit to chairs and dirt creating ever-changing visual collages that balance on a knife-edge between reality and surrealism. One of her nal works, Sweet Mambo is an exciting combination of solos and ensemble dances, gentle gestures and sumptuous costumes as dreams, sorrows and anecdotes unfold.
The remarkable and much missed Pina Bausch leaves a glorious legacy in her exuberant work
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, FESTIVAL 2010
Saturday 23 Monday 25 August 7.30pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets* 32 28 23 18 12 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/sweetmambo Monday 25 August 7.15pm
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The adventurous Americans have constantly pushed forward the musical boundaries
THE GUARDIAN
A response in music and lm to the conict that launched a century ofwar, and a celebration of the power of art to keep us sane and offer uscomfort.
Photo Wonge Bergmann
Beyond Zero: 19141918 brings together three of the worlds most pioneering artists: the Kronos Quartet, known for decades for their trailblazing performances and collaborations; acclaimed Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov; and lmmaker Bill Morrison, respected for his work with rare and even partially destroyed archive images. They come together for a journey through the turmoil of the First World War that combines music and lm, matching a web of sounds and music from before, during and after the war with specially created lm that draws on rare First World War footage from the Library of Congress, some of which has never been seen before. Beforehand, in Prelude to the Black Hole, Kronos travels back in time to 1914 to explore some of the music it would have played had it existed then, by iconic Western composers, world musicians and bluesartists.
Ensemble musikFabrik
Klaus Grnberg Scenography and lighting designer Florence von Gerkan Costumes Paul Jeukendrup Sound designer Matthias Mohr Dramaturgy Florian Bilbao Choreography
Harry Partch is one of the most original artists and musicians of the 20th century. The American composer not only invented his own tonal system, but also designed and built instruments of idiosyncratic beauty to play his music. These fantastical instruments, recreated specially, provide the set for this theatrical production. Legendary composer and director Heiner Goebbels returns to the Festival for the rst time in six years, while the superb musicians of the Ensemble musikFabrik bring the score to vibrant life. Delusion of the Fury is a large-scale music-theatre work inspired by Japanese Noh theatre works and Ethiopian myth, integratrating lighting, movement and song in a sound world full of lightness andhumour.
Monday 18 August 8.00pm Festival Theatre Tickets* 35 25 20 15 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special offer Book for both the Kronos Quartets Beyond Zero: 19141918 and Usher Hall concert on 19 August and geta20% discount 1 hour 10 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/beyondzero
Friday 29 & Saturday 30 August 8.00pm Kings Theatre Tickets* 35 28 20 15 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/delusionofthefury
Produced by Ruhrtriennale International Festival of the Arts in coproduction with the Ensemble musikFabrik, the Holland Festival and Lincoln Center Festival, New York.
Supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding by The MAP Fund, which is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It was commissioned for Kronos by Cal Performances; National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial and Harriman-Jewell Series, Kansas City, Missouri; and Hopkins Center, DartmouthCollege.
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Exhibit B
THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Brett Bailey Creator Exhibit B lies somewhere between performance and exhibition. 13 tableau vivant installations featuring black performers look at the themes of racism, othering and the colonial history of EuropeinAfrica. This deeply moving work, researched and created by South African artist Brett Bailey, gazes into the hidden Curiosity Cabinets of European racism. It focuses on the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Europes powers scrambled for Africas rich resources, and the continents scientists formulated the pseudo-scientic racial theories that continue to warp perceptions, with horric consequences. Drawing on the human zoos and ethnographic displays so popular during this period, this site-specic exhibit places Africans and African asylum-seekers in display cases, unpacking the histories, and turning the gaze back on Europeans.
Patria
World Premiere
one of the worlds foremost exponents of traditional Spanish guitar
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
terrible and magnicent shouldrunfor several months sothatall government ministers andscholars canattend.
LE SOIR Supported by
Wednesday 27 & Thursday 28 August 8.00pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets* 30 25 20 15 12 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/patria
9,10, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22 and 25 August: Performances from 2.00pm 5.50pm; 16, 17, 23 and 24 August: Performances from 10.30am 5.50pm Playfair Library Hall Tickets* 14 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. A walk through performance lasting 25 minutes approximately. Tickets available at 20 minute intervals. eif.co.uk/exhibitb
Photo Soe Knijff
SOUTH AFRICA UNITED KINGDOM SEASONS 2014 & 2015
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Royal Scottish National Orchestra Oliver Knussen Conductor Kirill Gerstein Piano Claire Booth Soprano Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master Schoenberg Five Orchestral Pieces Op 16 (original version) Scriabin Prometheus The Poem of Fire Debussy Le Martyre de Saint Sbastien The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra returns under its formidable Chief Conductor Donald Runnicles for one of the grandest orchestral showpieces in the repertoire: Holsts The Planets. From its gripping depiction of war in Mars to the serene beauty of Venus, it is a piece of immense profundity and unforgettable melody and it is followed by composer Colin Matthewss dazzling Pluto, written in 2000 to complement Holsts existing suite. Beforehand, Runnicles and the BBC SSO perform Brittens moving Sinfonia da Requiem, a deeply felt pacist work that pregures his famous War Requiem (performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra on Thursday 14 August) by more than two decades. Bergs opulent Seven Early Songs show the inuence of Richard Strauss, Wagner and even Debussy, and are performed by German soprano Michaela Kaune. What a night. What a performance... What an orchestra. And what a genius conductor. The Herald
Saturday 9 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/theplanets Supported by
Such are the heroic power and the beautiful, eloquent melodies of the Emperor Concerto that it is hard to believe Beethoven wrote it in a Vienna under attack from Napoleons invading armies. The strength and thoughtfulness of renowned German pianist Lars Vogt are an ideal match for this monumental concertos virtuosic demands. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, famed for its rened performances under Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati, explores the glories of the Rhine in Schumanns Third Symphony, a work of songful beauty and spiritual wonder at the natural world. To begin the concert, Brahmss Tragic Overture shows the composer at his most turbulent and emotional, and Weberns Langsamer Satz is a richly Romantic vision of nature and desire. sublime The Daily Telegraph a fantastic performance of the Third Symphony, the Rhenish one of the nest, most exquisite performances by the orchestra in its 40-year history The Herald
The 2014 Festival opens with a concert of three opulent masterpieces.They are performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under composer and conductor Oliver Knussen, one of the most respected gures in British music, famed for his brilliant insights into 20th-century repertoire. Schoenbergs explosive Five Orchestral Pieces are in many ways as revolutionary as Stravinskys The Rite of Spring, exploring troubled inner worlds in music of exquisite, kaleidoscopic colours. Awardwinning Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein is the soloist in Scriabins mystical Prometheus, which depicts nothing less than mankinds quest for enlightenment in music of tremendous power. After the interval, Debussy seems to prophesy the fallen of the Great War in his oratorio Le Martyre de Saint Sbastien, a collaboration with Italian war veteran Gabriele DAnnunzio, which evokes a world of pitiful self-sacrice, exotic spiritualism and repressed desire.
Friday 8 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 46 39 32 26 20 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/opening
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Sunday 10 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/sco
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The Sixteen
Harry Christophers Conductor Music by Josquin, Poulenc, Sheppard and Taverner
War and conict from the Renaissance to the present day are the compelling subjects of vocal ensemble The Sixteens boldly eclectic programme under founding director Harry Christophers. The choir performs two sections from Josquin Desprezs Missa Lhomme arm, one of several choral masterpieces based around amedieval song warning of the menace of a fearsome armed man, aswell as the Sanctus from John Taverners Missa O Michael, with itsentrancing web of voices. It interweaves these Renaissance masterpieces with striking yet sensuous choral music by Francis Poulenc: the four moving Motets pour un temps de pnitence, and the searing power of the cantata Figure humaine, written in Nazi-occupied France and set to texts smuggled secretly to the composer from the poet Paul luard. Beautifully balanced and blended The Scotsman, Festival 2013
One of the very nest British pianists, Paul Lewis has drawn huge critical acclaim internationally for his Beethoven piano sonata cycles. Praised for his intellectual rigour and his imaginative lyricism, he brings a strong physicality as well as luminous poetic insights to Beethovens tempestuous music. His all-Beethoven Festival recital contrasts sonatas both early and late. The melodic and harmonic beauty of the virtuosic Op 111 seems to look forward to Chopin, while the nocturnal evocations of the earlier Moonlight Sonata justly make it one of Beethovens bestknownworks. The sparkling brilliance of the short Op 27 No 1 serves as a prelude to the transcendental drama of Op 111. Its stormy rst movement gives way to sublime melody in its second, one of the composers most serene creations. breathtaking The New York Times Lewis played with power and tenderness, grandeur and intimacy The Phoenix
Jordi Savall is one of the worlds true musical pioneers. His searching historical curiosity has shed new light on the changing role music has played in society through theages. He brings together his three exceptional instrumental and choral ensembles with special guest soloists for a spectacular performance tracing the music of war and peace during one of Europes most turbulent centuries. With music both stirring and soothing by composers including Lully, Cavalli, Blow and Handel, as well as traditional music from the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Savall reveals how music has been used to provoke men to ght, and also to console and commemorate in timesofpeace. Savalls interpretations are so elegant, sensuous and surprising The Times
A cry of fury at the futility of war, and an intensely moving tribute to the dead. Benjamin Britten summed up his deeply held pacist beliefs in his powerful War Requiem, which contrasts texts from the Latin Requiem Mass with searing visions of the First World War in poetry by Wilfred Owen. It is a deeply humane masterpiece with a timely message of compassion and reconciliation, from the shattering fanfares of the Dies irae to the exquisite concluding plea for peace. Widely admired for his incisive accounts of British music and his expertise in choral works, Sir Andrew Davis directs the outstanding Philharmonia Orchestra, and gathers a stellar line-up of international vocalists, as well as the combined forces of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and the boys of the NYCoS National Boys Choir. gloriously characterful playing. The Scotsman, Festival 2012
Monday 11 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/thesixteen
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Tuesday 12 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 34 26 20 16 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/hesperion
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Wednesday 13 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 34 26 20 16 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/paullewis
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Thursday 14 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/brittenwarrequiem
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David McLellan
Joscelyn Fox
Ruins of Coventry Cathedral after German bombings, 1940 Photo Tallandier RA/Lebrecht
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Ute Lemper Bachs Mass in B minor Scottish Chamber Orchestra Collegium Vocale Gent
Lawrence Foster Conductor Ute Lemper Vocalist Includes music by Weill, Eisler and Stravinsky Choir and Orchestra Philippe Herreweghe Conductor Dorothee Mields Soprano Hana Blazikova Soprano Damien Guillon Countertenor Thomas Hobbs Tenor Peter Kooij Bass Bach Mass in B minor
The charismatic German chanteuse Ute Lemper, celebrated for her spellbinding performances of Kurt Weill and Marlene Dietrich, joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to explore the sensuous decadence and simmering passions of Weimar Republic Germany. She sings seductive songs by Weill including the famous Surabaya Johnny and Mack the Knife as well as anti-Nazi numbers by Hanns Eisler and Bertolt Brecht. 50 years on from Marlene Dietrichs own appearance at the Festival, Lemper nishes with songs made famous by the German star in the 1930s. Under Lawrence Foster, the orchestra also performs the Suite from Weills biting Threepenny Opera, and the catchy rhythms of Stravinskys tuneful Scnes de ballet. Ute Lemper shines The Sydney Morning Herald Lemper grabs her audience by the throat The Guardian
Widely considered to be JS Bachs crowning achievement, the Mass in B minor is a monumental hymn of praise that transcends its religious origins, in music that is by turns exuberant, intense, serene and dramatic. With its sublime arias and stirring choruses, it is a moving expression of love and peace. It is performed by the choir and orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent, under their founding director Philippe Herreweghe, widely acclaimed for their interpretation of the music of JS Bach. Famed for their lucid yet enormously expressive performances that combine power and subtlety, they are joined by an international gathering of exceptional soloists, all regular Collegium Vocale Gent collaborators. the choral sound was beautifully focused, the instrumental playing exceptionally clean. The Independent Herreweghe coaxed out playing and singing that was consistently eloquent. The Guardian
Founded in 2011 by Polands Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the I,CULTURE Orchestra brings together exceptional young musicians from the former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states of Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Under the charismatic young Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, the orchestra performs two immensely powerful symphonies that cry out against the brutality of war. Shostakovich wrote his impassioned Leningrad Symphony during the gruelling 900-day Nazi siege of the city, and its thrillingly dramatic music for a spectacularly huge orchestra has come to symbolise the triumph of the human spirit in times of conict. The lyrical Sinfonia elegiaca by Polish-born composer Andrzej Panufnik is a poignant expression of consolation for all victims of war. Theres no doubting the orchestras amazing verve and enthusiasm The Arts Desk Karabits: an energising presence The Daily Telegraph
Colour, heroism and boundless power come together in the London Philharmonic Orchestras compelling Festival concert under its Principal Conductor, the charismatic Vladimir Jurowski. Beethoven famously tore the original dedication to Napoleon from his Third Symphony, furious that he had proclaimed himself Emperor of France and fearful of the conict that he could bring to Europe. The Eroica remains a revolutionary work, whose rich melodies and heroic ambitions swept away all previous ideas of what a symphony could be. Making her Festival debut, the astonishing young Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja performs Bartks brilliant Second Violin Concerto, her remarkably vivid playing an ideal match for the pieces earthy Hungarian folk inuences. The concert begins with the radiant hues of Magnus Lindbergs Bach-inspired Chorale. Vladimir Jurowski: His music-making tends to crackle with fresh ideas and intellectual engagement The Boston Globe
Friday 15 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/utelemper
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Saturday 16 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/bachmass
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Sunday 17 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/leningrad
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Dunard Fund
With additional support from
Dunard Fund
Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/lpo
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Kronos Quartet
Philip Glass String Quartet No 6 Clint Mansell Music from The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Kronos Quartet has commissioned and performed more than 800 new works, as well ascollaborated with a rich collection of global musicians. To complement its lm project Beyond Zero: 19141918 (on Monday 18 August, see page 31), it gives a special recital focusing on its collaborations with two artists whose work spans both classical and popular culture. Philip Glass has collaborated with the Kronos players since the 1980s. His String Quartet No 6, written for and premiered by Kronos last year, is a hugely powerful work, dark and brooding in places. Clint Mansell is the former lead singer of alternative rock band Pop Will Eat Itself, and as a composer has scored several lms by the acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky. Kronos performs Mansells music from Aronofskys The Fountain and the cult classic Requiem for a Dream. exhilarating The Guardian The Kronos Quartet doesnt just give a performance, it puts onashow The Herald, Festval 2010
Renowned worldwide for his invigorating interpretations that cast fresh light on classical masterpieces, conductor Philippe Herreweghe brings the exceptional singers of his Collegium Vocale Gent to join the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a concert of choral masterworks. Haydns Nelson Mass, originally named Mass in Troubled Times, was written as Napoleons invading armies were threatening Vienna, and gained its second nickname following Nelsons stunning victory over Bonaparte in the Battle of the Nile. Considered one of the composers profoundest creations, it moves from darkness to a jubilant nale. Herreweghe gathers a quartet of remarkable British singers for the pieces virtuosic vocal solos. Afterwards, Herreweghe directs three warm, reverential choral motets by Bruckner, and Stravinskys hugely powerful Symphony of Psalms, which combines spiritual solemnity with sparkling wit.
One of Australias nest ensembles, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has been praised for the intense drama of its colourful performances. Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis is joined by two world-renowned soloists in a programme of bright contrasts. Strausss exuberant Don Juan is a vivid musical portrait of the inveterate womaniser that bursts onto the stage in an explosion of virile melodies. By contrast, Canadian soprano Erin Wall, admired for the pristine beauty of her singing, is the soloist in Strausss nal work, the intensely moving Four Last Songs. Schumanns poetic, playful Cello Concerto is the canvas for the lyrical talents of exceptional Norwegian cellist Truls Mrk. The concert reaches a resounding climax with the thrillingly amboyant and colourful The Warriors by the orchestras compatriot, PercyGrainger. dazzling The Australian
Anguished and celebratory, furious and consoling, Bernsteins epic Kaddish Symphony is an inspired evocation of the Jewish prayer for the dead. It is also a celebration for the living. Dedicated to the memory of John F Kennedy, it is a hugely powerful and profoundly spiritual symphony about mortality and faith. At the composers request, Samuel Pisar, a survivor of both Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps, wrote a deeply personal narration to accompany Bersteins music. He delivers his testimony with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, celebrated soprano Rebecca Evans, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and NYCoS National Girls Choir, under the baton of Bernstein protg John Axelrod. By way of contrast, the exceptional Ukrainian-born violinist Vadim Gluzman is the soloist in Samuel Barbers lush, lyrical and immensely virtuosic Violin Concerto.
Sunday 24 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/kaddish Supported by
Tuesday 19 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 34 26 20 16 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special offer Book for both the Kronos Quartets Beyond Zero: 19141918 and this Usher Hall concert and get a20%discount 1 hour 50 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/kronos
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Wednesday 20 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/collegium-sco
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Thursday 21 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/mso
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Czech Philharmonic
Conducted by Ji Blohlvek
William Tell
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Teatro Regio Torino Concert performance sung in Italian Guglielmo Tell Fabio Maria Capitanucci Arnoldo Melchtal John Osborn Matilde Elena Mosuc Gualtiero Mirco Palazzi Melchtal Giacomo Prestia Jemmy Erika Grimaldi Edwige Anna Maria Chiuri Gesler Luca Tittoto Fisherman Mikeldi Atxalandabaso Rodolfo Luca Casalin Gianandrea Noseda Conductor
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Nicola Benedetti Violin Janek Overture From the House of the Dead Korngold Violin Concerto Martin Symphony No 4
With an illustrious history of performing the rich repertoire of its homeland and a distinctive sound, the Czech Philharmonic brings two concerts of sumptuous music to Festival 2014. Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti is the soloist in the extraordinarily lush, romantic Violin Concerto by Erich Korngold, written in Hollywood after the composer ed Nazi-occupied Austria. Before it comes the striking overture to Janeks nal opera From the House of the Dead. The concert concludes with the radiant Fourth Symphony by Martin, which is full of glorious tunes and sparkles with optimism. unbounded lyricism that only this orchestra can bring The Guardian
The world-renowned mezzo soprano Bernarda Fink, celebrated for her exquisite voice and her powerful performances sings the moving Biblical Songs by Dvok, contemplative essays in peace and touching sincerity. Before them, the orchestra performs George Szells colourful orchestral arrangement of Smetanas First String Quartet, in which the composer looks back with searing honesty on his lifes achievements. The orchestras Festival residency concludes with Janeks spectacular Sinfonietta. Dedicated to the Czechoslovakian armed forces, the piece celebrates mankinds courage in music of enormous power and lyricism with a huge orchestra that includes a gleaming gathering of 25 brass players. the orchestra glowed in vivid hues, with golden strings radiant horns and deliciously acidic woodwind. The Scotsman
One of the worlds most respected pianists, balancing emotional intensity with poetic subtlety, Andrs Schiff has been a lifelong champion of central European music. His Festival recital contrasts Classical elegance with the thrilling energy of 20th-century masterpieces from Hungary and Moravia. Schiff performs two gloriously melodic Beethoven sonatas, of emotional complexity yet radiant brevity. The exciting rhythms and gripping power of Bartks folk-inspired Piano Sonata couldnt come as a greater contrast. Janeks emotionally charged Sonata 1.X.1905 is a hugely dramatic, personal piece written in the white heat of emotion following the killing of a street protester in Brno. The luminous serenity of Schuberts Gmajor Sonata D894, considered one of the composers most perfect creations affords the platform to illustrate Schiffs deserved reputation as one of the composers nest interpreters. Andrs Schiff is the Master Los Angeles Times
A passionate tale of forbidden love, and a story of a bitter struggle against tyranny: William Tell is the summation of Rossinis operatic expertise in a powerful work of great energy, drama and beauty. From its bracing overture, the opera tells of the eponymous medieval Swiss patriot and his ght against Austrian oppression in music of great passion and lyricism. Its most famous scene, in which the renowned archer is forced to shoot an apple off his sons head, is just one of the operas many colourful highlights. The dynamic Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda, respected worldwide for his opera interpretations and Music Director of the Teatro Regio in Turin, directs the chorus and orchestra and a cast of exceptional international soloists.
Friday 22 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/czech1
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Saturday 23 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/czech2
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Tuesday 26 August 6.30pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 4 hours approximately eif.co.uk/williamtell
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Tickets* 34 26 20 16 10 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 5 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/andrasschiff
Scene from opera William Tell by Gioacchino Rossini 17921868 Italian, engraving 19th century Image The Art Archive / Museum der Stadt Wien / Collection Dagli Orti
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Mahlers Symphony No 6 02
Leonidas Kavakos Violin Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn Wolfgang Rihm Lichtes Spiel Strauss Ein Heldenleben Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Yannick Nzet-Sguin Conductor Mahler Symphony No 6
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Jean-Yves Thibaudet Piano Shostakovich Symphony No 1 Ravel Piano Concerto in G Ravel Daphnis et Chlo Suite No 2
Last years Festival performance of Mahlers mighty Ninth Symphony by Amsterdams Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra showed beyond doubt why it is hailed as one of the worlds truly great ensembles. Theorchestra returns for a residency under the magnicent direction ofits Chief Conductor, Mariss Jansons. Shostakovich wrote his First Symphony when he was just a student. Itis a precociously assured piece, lively, witty and full of biting satire. French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is a master of sparkling technique and poetic lyricism, both qualities an ideal match for Ravels heartfelt Piano Concerto in G, with its infectious jazz rhythms and bittersweet slow movement. The orchestra brings its concert to an opulent conclusion with the hedonistic glory of Ravels sumptuous ballet score Daphnis et Chlo. Jansons and the Concertgebouw seem to be the consummate match The Australian
The climax of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras second Festival concert is Richard Strausss grand symphonic poem A Heros Life, whose leaping melodies and kaleidoscopic orchestral colours depict the fearless protagonist (perhaps Strauss himself) battling his critics and celebrating his love for his wife. Its impossible not to be swept up in the gloriously vivid storytelling and sheer spectacle of Strausss evocative music. The commanding Greek-born violinist Leonidas Kavakos, warmly remembered for his concerto and recital performances at the 2012 Festival, is the soloist in the lyrical Lichtes Spiel by German composer Wolfgang Rihm, a seductive, highly expressive work of languid harmonies and transparent textures. To begin the concert, Mariss Jansons conducts the endlessly inventive melodies of Brahmss magnicent Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Believe the hype: great orchestra without equal The Australian Kavakos possesses a sound of unrivaled beauty The New York Times
Mahlers Sixth Symphony, sometimes called the Tragic, is a work of enormous power and pathos whose grimly militaristic opening march and shattering nal hammer-blows seem to prophesy the mechanised conict of the First World War. Yet amidst its cataclysmic turmoil, the Symphony is shot through with poignant lyricism, expressing profound love and serene visions of a rural idyll, with church chimes and cowbells wistfully evoking an arcadian way of life that Mahler perceived to be vanishing. Young French-Canadian conductor Yannick Nzet-Sguin was widely acclaimed for his electrifying performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at Festival 2013, combining blistering energy with a air for sumptuous sound. He returns to conduct the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he is Music Director, in one of Mahlers most personal utterances. Nzet-Sguin, the greatest generator of energy on the international podium Financial Times
The Festivals concert series at the Usher Hall concludes in epic style, with a blazing confrontation between darkness and light given by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Prinicipal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov. Edinburgh International Festival Director and composer Sir Jonathan Millss oratorio Sandakan Threnody honours the 2,500 British and Australian prisoners of war who lost their lives in the death marches inNorth Borneo during the Second World War. By contrast, Janeks Glagolitic Mass is a joyous afrmation of life. Acast of renowned international singers, the full force of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and acclaimed organist Thomas Trotter bring the Festival to a spectacular, jubilant close.
Wednesday 27 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/concertgebouw1
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Thursday 28 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 50 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/concertgebouw2
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Friday 29 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/mahler6
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Saturday 30 August 8.00pm Usher Hall Tickets* 44 36 27 25 18 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/bbcsso
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Roxane Clayton
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Greyfriars
Greyfriars Kirk Tickets* 20 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/greyfriars
Greyfriars
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Ricercar Consort
Philippe Pierlot Bass viol and director Music by Scheidt, Schtz and Schein
Greyfriars
Greyfriars Series is supported by
Two revered virtuosos in Asian traditions come together for a recital exploring cultural links that go back more than 2,000 years. Wu Man is one of the worlds foremost players of the pipa, a four-stringed Chinese lute, and has been widely praised for her highly colourful performances. Sanubar Tursun is a symbol of Uyghur traditions, matching athletic, highly ornamented vocals with delicate playing on the dutar, a Central Asian long-necked lute. They are joined by other Uyghur musicians for a recital of solos, duets and trios.
Prized for the rich sound and vibrancy of its quietly ecstatic performances, the Polish Radio Choir, Krakow, has enjoyed close relationships with its countrys eminent composers. It brings a programme of powerfully expressive religious works by Grecki and Penderecki to the Festival, contrasting the luminous simplicity of Greckis moving Totus Tuus and two MarianSongs with the more opulent harmonies of Pendereckis Missa brevis and the Agnus Dei from his Polish Requiem.
Monday 18 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/polishradio
The Belgian-based Ricercar Consort makes a welcome return to the Festival under director Philippe Pierlot following two thrilling performances of English music in Festival 2012. It performs imposing choral and instrumental music from the early German Baroque by Scheidt, Schtz and Schein, composers who struggled to continue their creative work during the Thirty Years War, contrasting moving funeral odes with evocative dance music.
Wednesday 20 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/ricercar
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Arditti Quartet
Jake Arditti Countertenor Music by Dowland, Gesualdo, Brian Ferneyhough and Hilda Paredes
The Festivals Greyfriars concert series opens with one of the landmark compositions of the 20th century. Olivier Messiaen wrote his immensely powerful Quartet for the End of Time while a prisoner of war in Stalag VIII-A in Silesia, and it was premiered in the camp in 1941 to an audience of 400 fellow prisoners and Nazi guards. Despite its apocalyptic themes, drawn from the Book of Revelation, it is a glittering work of sublime, transcendent beauty, and it is performed by an ensemble of exceptional international soloists.
Monday 11 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/endoftime
A beautifully focused sound and a ne vocal blend are among the many exceptional qualities that dene Philippe Herreweghes Collegium Vocale Gent as one of the worlds most accomplished vocal ensembles, especially as interpreters of early music. Exploiting the warm, resonant acoustics of Greyfriars Kirk, they perform The Tears of Saint Peter by Renaissance composer Roland de Lassus, a cycle of 20 exquisite sacred madrigals that powerfully express grief, regret and forgiveness in music of moving simplicity and consoling contemplation.
Tuesday 12 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/collegiumvocale
For 40 years, renowned vocal quartet TheHilliard Ensemble has championed early choral music, performing it with precision and spiritual insight. In one of its nal performances before it bids farewell to the worlds concert stages, it combines ancient and modern in the Renaissance richness of Dufays Missa Lhomme arm and the moving Six Songs for Peace by contemporary German composer Werner Heider.
Thursday 14 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/hilliard
Contemporary music specialists the Arditti Quartet has made numerous acclaimed Festival appearances in recent years, and the players return with music both radiantly ancient and bracingly modern. Countertenor Jake Arditti sings moving Renaissance masterpieces by Dowland and Gesualdo innew arrangements for quartet by Mexican composer Hilda Paredes. They are followed by the exquisite beauty of Brian Ferneyhoughs Dum transisset I-IV, modelled on viol music by Christopher Tye, and by Paredess own atmospheric Canciones lunticas forcountertenor and quartet.
Saturday 16 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/arditti
Praised for the exceptional purity and brilliance of its singing, The Tallis Scholars under founding director Peter Phillips perform an emotive programme contrasting the splendours of Renaissance choral music from Italy, France and the Netherlands. Beginning with the rich opulence of movements from Palestrinas ve-voice Missa Lhomme arm, based around a medieval song that warns of the coming of a fearsome armed gure, itincludes funeral odes by Mouton, Josquin and Gombert, before closing with the resplendent choral glories of Gomberts uplifting Reginacaeli.
Tuesday 19 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/tallisscholars
One of Italys nest Baroque ensembles, Concerto Italiano is cherished for its vivid, urgent yet subtle performances that display a rare expressive exibility. Under director Rinaldo Alessandrini, the group brings a rich programme of exquisite Italian music to the Festival, contrasting instrumental pieces by Marini, Uccellini, Merula and Castello with dazzling madrigals by Monteverdi, including the highly moving Lettera amorosa and the hugely emotional miniature opera Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, inwhich a Christian knight unknowingly defeats his beloved in battle.
Thursday 21 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/concertoitaliano
Supported by
Supported by
Susie Thomson
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Hebrides Ensemble
Graham F. Valentine Narrator Schoenberg Verklrte Nacht (arr Steuermann) Stravinsky The Soldiers Tale
Nicola Benedetti Violin Anna-Liisa Bezrodny Violin Benjamin Gilmore Viola Leonard Elschenbroich Cello Alexei Grynyuk Piano
Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor Op 25 Shostakovich Piano Quintet
The 2014 Queens Hall Series opens with the power and panache of a masterpiece of music theatre, performed by one of Scotlands foremost chamber groups, the Hebrides Ensemble. Stravinsky combined text and music to witty and vivid effect in his Faustian The Soldiers Tale, in which a naive army recruit attempts to make amends for selling his soul while playing the ddle. Actor Graham F. Valentine, acclaimed for his starring role in Meine faire Dame at the 2012 Festival, narrates the infectiously entertaining work. The Hebrides players perform Schoenbergs highly Romantic, emotionally charged Verklrte Nacht in a sparkling version for piano trio by Austrian composer and pupil of Schoenberg, Edward Steuermann. undoubtedly Scotlands most adventurous chamber ensemble The Scotsman, Festival 2013 a life-afrming experience Bachtrack
Acclaimed violinist Nicola Benedetti is held in wide admiration as one of Britains nest young musicians. She gathers an ensemble of her regular collaborators each performer a respected soloist in their own right for a special Festival recital contrasting two masterpieces of the chamber repertoire. Brahmss G minor Piano Quartet bustles with infectious melody, and concludes with a famously ery gypsy rondo nale. Shostakovichs powerful Piano Quintet was written in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, and its accessible but distinctive music ranges from poignant introspection to biting satire. it was thrilling to hear and watch Nicola Benedetti The Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Celebrated for the remarkable passion, drama and directness of his elegant performances, British tenor Ian Bostridge is widely admired as one of the worlds most perceptive and accomplished musicians. Joined by the eminent pianist Julius Drake, musical partner of choice for a host of world-renowned singers, he brings a wide-ranging recital to The Queens Hall, whose warm intimacy provides the ideal setting toappreciate the duos consummate craft. Together they explore songs of lost innocence and unrequited love by Mahler, from the countryside idylls of early Lieder to the achingly poignant Songs of a Wayfarer. Kurt Weill and Benjamin Brittens heartfelt responses to conict are revealed by Weills pleas for peace in his Four Walt Whitman Songs, and moving depictions of the young during wartime in Brittens WhoAre These Children. Ian Bostridge: he is outstanding in every way Financial Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Two of todays most accomplished musicians, German cellist Alban Gerhardt and Scottish pianist Steven Osborne, come together for a powerful recital of solo and duo works contrasting radiant lyricism with dramatic intensity. The rst half features solo music by two composers renowned for their pacist beliefs. Gerhardts bold, fresh playing is an ideal match for the vivid sound worlds of Brittens First Cello Suite. Osborne, whose poetic playing has made him an admired Tippett interpreter, performs that composers remarkably expressive Fourth Piano Sonata. The two performers join forces after the interval for two visionary cello sonatas: Beethovens intimate C major sonata and Brittens compellingmasterpiece. Steven Osborne is one of the unsung heroes of British pianism The Independent Alban Gerhardt: his cello playing is bold, technically resourceful and rhythmically incisive. The New York Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Saturday 9 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/hebrides
Supported by
Monday 11 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/benedetti
Tuesday 12 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/bostridge-drake
Wednesday 13 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hour 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/gerhardt-osborne
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Artemis Quartet
Mozart String Quartet in G K387 Bartk String Quartet No 3 Schubert String Quartet in D minor D810 Death and the Maiden
Trio Verlaine
Lorna McGhee Flute David Harding Viola Heidi Krutzen Harp Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin (arr Morlock) R Murray Schafer Trio for ute, viola and harp Bax Elegiac Trio Takemitsu And then I knew twas Wind Debussy Sonata for ute, viola and harp
The players of the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet have been acclaimed for the technical brilliance and intensity of its high-energy performances qualities needed in abundance for this virtuosic and diverse recital. Schuberts masterful Death and the Maiden Quartet forms the thrilling conclusion to the Artemiss programme. It is a deeply emotional work that matches melancholy with glowing lyricism. Before the interval, itperforms Mozarts sparkling G major Quartet K387, the rst of a set written in tribute to Haydn, and Bartks brief but punchy Third Quartet. Blistering performance The Financial Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski is widely admired for the freshness and sublime poetry of his performances. His Festival recital concludes with the profound emotions and serene melodies of Schuberts C minor Sonata D958, one of the composers nal works. Anderszewski also evokes the heady harmonies and exotic colours of the scintillating Metopes by his compatriot Szymanowski, inspired by Homers Odyssey. Beforehand, Anderszewski contrasts the passionate virtuosity of Schumann with the sparkling elegance of Bach. extraordinary The Sunday Times
Young German-born soprano Anna Prohaska has been hailed as one of the most exciting voices of her generation, praised for her kaleidoscopic vocal colours as well as for the warmth and power ofherimpeccably elegant singing. Her evocative recital with pianist Eric Schneider brings together soldiers songs from across the classical repertoire, celebrating heroism as well as providing moving testimony to the pity and tragedy of conict from Beethovens glorious Die Trommel gerhret to Faurs bittersweet Cestla paix, by way of folk songs and even an Orkney lament. Anna Prohaska: totally captivating The Daily Telegraph Eric Schneiders piano playing radiated lunar beauty The Times
With its exquisite sounds and subtle, pastel colours, Debussys highly evocative Sonata for ute, viola and harp established this unusual trio of instruments as a thrillingly expressive chamber grouping in 1915. That piece provides the passionate climax to the recital by US/ Canadian Trio Verlaine, whose members are all established soloists and orchestral players in their own right. Beforehand, it performs English composer Arnold Baxs deeply lyrical Elegiac Trio, as well as the richly melodic, Mahler-inspired Trio by leading Canadian musician R Murray Schafer. Takemitsus And then I knew twas Wind combines meditative calm with tender, exotic harmonies, and the concert opens with a sparkling trio arrangement ofRavels poignant Le tombeau de Couperin. [a] beautifully balanced sound The Seattle Times
Thursday 14 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/artemis
Friday 15 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/anderszewski
Supported by
Saturday 16 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/trioverlaine
Supported by
Monday 18 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/prohaska-schneider
Supported by
Frank Hitchman
With additional support from
Mr Hedley G Wright
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Renaud Capuon Violin Takcs Quartet Hanna Weinmeister Violin/Viola 01 Janek String Quartet No 2 Intimate Letters Edgar Moreau Cello Smetana String Quartet No 1 From My Life Beethoven String Quartet in E minor Op 59 No 2 Jrme Ducros Piano
Korngold Violin Sonata Mahler Piano Quartet Movement Webern Two Pieces for Cello and Piano Korngold Suite for Piano Left Hand, Two Violins and Cello 02 Janek String Quartet No 1 The Kreutzer Sonata Barber Adagio from String Quartet Beethoven String Quartet in A minor Op 132
Concert pianist Michael Houstoun is one of New Zealands nest musicians, praised around the globe for his vivid, ery playing and for the clarity of his incisive interpretations. His Festival recital contrasts glowing music by two Commonwealth composers with glittering keyboard masterpieces that show off the power and poetry of the piano. Houstoun begins his concert with the warm-hearted lyricism of Vaughan Williamss evocative, folk-inspired Suite, and continues with Le tombeau de Couperin, Ravels light-hearted yet reective look back to the glories of French Baroque music in six exquisitely poignant memorials to friends killed in the First World War. Houstoun continues with the colourful, nature-inspired Chaconne by Douglas Lilburn, one of New Zealands most prominent 20th-century composers. He concludes his recital with the lush Romanticism and dramatic virtuosity of Rachmaninovs Second Piano Sonata. draws magnicence from his Steinway The New Zealand Herald This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Poignant English songs of regret and lost innocence contrast boldly with richly Romantic German Lieder in this Festival recital by internationally renowned British baritone Simon Keenlyside. He is joined by Edinburgh pianist Malcolm Martineau, celebrated for his distinguished collaborations with a wide range of international singers. Keenlyside and Martineau bring together songs from Butterworths AShropshire Lad , a touching evocation of a vanishing pastoral England, and Vaughan Williamss Songs of Travel, which explore the innermost thoughts and longings for home of soldiers on the front line. The rich melodies of Schumanns gripping mini-drama Ballade des Harfners are a ne contrast to the touching pastoral evocations of Wolfs Fussreise and Blumengruss. Simon Keenlyside has no peers and few equals among English baritones The Sunday Telegraph Malcolm Martineau: the incomparable accompanist The New York Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Quite simply one of todays outstanding musicians, French violinist Renaud Capuon has been widely praised for his sizzling virtuosity, precision and rened playing. He is joined by exceptional chamber music colleagues in a recital celebrating the lush richness and glorious melody of music written in the years before the First World War. Korngold, Mahler and Webern were astonishingly only in their teens when they wrote this concerts opulent opening works. Each pieces sublime melodies reveal an astonishing maturity. Capuon and colleagues end their recital with Korngolds highly virtuosic Suite, a compelling piece charting a journey from darkness to light, written in 1928 for the virtuoso pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost an arm in the Great War. Renaud Capuon: exquisite tonal renement and grace Chicago Tribune This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
The Takcs Quartet is respected worldwide for its lucid, dramatic performances and technical brilliance. The quartets two Festival concerts contrast glittering Czech masterpieces with powerfully moving works by Beethoven. The centrepiece of the ensembles opening concert is Smetanas From My Life, a deeply Romantic, intimately autobiographical work. Janeks passionate Intimate Letters was inspired by unrequited love, and the Takcs players end their rst concert with the mystery and contemplation of Beethovens second Razumovsky quartet. The Quartets second recital culminates in Beethovens String Quartet Op 132, regarded as one of the most rapturous creations in all music. Before the interval, the Takcs players perform Janeks hugely evocative Kreutzer Sonata Quartet, as well as Barbers moving Adagio, strongly associated with Oliver Stones lm Platoon and famously played at the funeral of President Kennedy. The Friday 22 August concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Supported by
Tuesday 19 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/houstoun
Sponsored by
Wednesday 20 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/keenlyside-martineau
Supported by
01 Friday 22 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/takacs01
Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/capucon
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Anne Soe von Otter Mezzo soprano Daniel Hope Violin Bengt Forsberg Piano Bebe Risenfors Accordion, double bass, guitar
Songs and instrumental music from Terezn. Music by Klmn, Ullmann, Schulhoff, Haas, Berman, Roman and Bach
Terezn, or Theresienstadt, was the concentration camp north ofPrague where the Jewish cultural elite composers, musicians, painters, writers, scholars of every kind were interned during the Nazireign of terror. Encouraged to continue their creative activities as aNazi propaganda tool, they nevertheless produced fascinating, deeply moving and often uplifting work that afrms the triumph of human dignity over almost unimaginable suffering. World-renowned Swedish mezzo soprano Anne Soe von Otter has assembled a collection of songs and instrumental music produced or played in Terezn from colourful cabaret songs by Martin Roman to tender lullabies by Ilse Weber, by way of Lieder by Pavel Haas and Viktor Ullmann which she performs with an ensemble of exceptional international colleagues. among the worlds great mezzo-sopranos. The Daily Telegraph This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Monday 25 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/vonotter
A vibrant celebration of the richness and diversity of music-making across the Commonwealth. The Scottish Ensemble brings together 14 of Scotlands foremost string players in a tightly knit ensemble, famed for its luminous, ardent performances. It is joined by Commonwealth Strings, a group of exceptional young string players selected from across the Commonwealth for this Festival performance, in a concert contrasting glorious English classics and rich Antipodean evocations. Elgars noble yet virtuosic Introduction and Allegro is joined by Vaughan Williamss mystical Tallis Fantasia, interspersed with the vivid nature evocations of Australian composer Peter Sculthorpes joyful Third Sonata for Strings and a new Festival commission from leading NewZealand composer Gareth Farr. The concert ends with the jazzy rhythms of Tippetts thrilling Concerto for Double String Orchestra. Scottish Ensemble: exquisite The Scotsman In association with the Royal Over-Seas League This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Gripping, grotesque miniature operas sit alongside touching Gallic evocations in this powerful recital by French baritone Stphane Degout, an internationally celebrated singer respected for the dramatic intensity of both his vivid operatic performances and his sophisticated concert recitals. Joined by British pianist Simon Lepper, Degout performs the chilling gothic fantasy of Romantic ballads including Schuberts unsettling Der Zwerg and Loewes macabre Edward, based on a gruesome Scottishlegend. They then perform Liszts exuberant Tre sonetti del Petrarca and convey the high emotions of Faurs poignant Lhorizon chimrique. Stphane Degout: beautiful voice magisterial The Wall Street Journal Simon Lepper: one of the most gifted and enterprising [accompanists] of his generation Opera Magazine This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Founded in 2002, the Pavel Haas Quartet is considered one of the worlds most exciting chamber ensembles, combining the lush, full-blooded sound of the Bohemian quartet tradition with a searing dramatic intensity. Named after a Czech composer whose life was cut short in Auschwitz, the quartet begins its Festival recital with the jaunty, folk-inuenced First Quartet by Erwin Schulhoff, another composer who lost his life in a Nazi concentration camp. Shostakovichs Tenth Quartet depicts the triumph of the human spirit over adversity in vivid music of intense emotional richness, and the Pavel Haas players conclude their concert with the endlessly owing melodies of Brahmss graceful A minor Quartet Op 51 No 2. in a class of their own The Strad a force to be reckoned with The Herald This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Tuesday 26 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/scottishensemble
Supported by
Wednesday 27 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/degout-lepper
Thursday 28 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/pavelhaas
In memory of
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Frank Peter Zimmermann Violin Daniil Trifonov Piano Christian Zacharias Piano Stravinsky Serenade in A
Beethoven Violin Sonata in D Op 12 No 1 Violin Sonata in E at Op 12 No 3 Violin Sonata in A Op 12 No 2 Violin Sonata in F Op 24 Spring
A recital celebrating the rich lyricism of Beethovens violin sonatas from the internationally sought-after violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and his recital partner, the perceptive pianist Christian Zacharias. Zimmermann has been widely praised for his exuberant, playful accounts of Beethoven sonatas that mix authoritative strength with breathtaking intimacy, and Zacharias is celebrated for the poetry and precision of his touching interpretations. They begin their recital with Beethovens rst three sonatas, combining high spirits with singingmelodies. To conclude, they play Beethovens sublime Spring Sonata, which holds one of the most memorable melodies in all music. Frank Peter Zimmermann: playing of real distinctiveness and vitality Boston Globe Christian Zacharias: a performer who is suited for the world stage The New Yorker This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Famed for his pyrotechnic playing, and for his effortless poetic pianism, multi-award-winning young Russian virtuoso Daniil Trifonov brings TheQueens Hall 2014 concerts to a thrilling conclusion, having gripped Festival audiences for the past two years with his expressive intensity and bold insights. He returns with a recital combining breaktaking virtuosity with sublime poetry. Birdsong, marine evocations and Spanish reworks all feature in Ravels exquisite piano suite Miroirs, while Liszts Transcendental Studies push a performers technical abilities to their limits in richly Romantic music, full of tempestuous brilliance and emotional intensity. Trifonov opens his recital with the neo-Classical elegance ofStravinskys festive Serenade in A. A remarkable pianist with a fearless and magnetic stage presence The Scotsman, Festival 2013 Technique, musicianship: Daniil Trifonov has it all The Seattle Times
The Virgin Money Fireworks Concert brings Edinburghs summer festival season to a spectacular conclusion, celebrating courage, heroism and struggles for freedom through stirring, uplifting music and a breathtaking reworks display specially choreographed by international reworks artists Pyrovision. Alongside the majesty of Wagners Ride of the Valkyries from DieWalkre and Debussys rousing March cossaise, the concert takes in the stormy passions of Beethovens Egmont Overture and the memorable War March of the Priests from Mendelssohns Athalie.
Sunday 31 August 9.00pm Tickets* Ross Theatre (seated) 28.50 Princes Street Gardens (standing) 12.50, priority entry 17.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/virginmoneyreworks Sponsored by
Friday 29 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/zimmermann-zacharias
Supported by
Saturday 30 August 11.00am The Queens Hall Tickets* 30 27 22 19 11 8.50 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/trifonov
Supported by
Tchaikovskys 1812 Overture, written to celebrate Russias deliverance from Napoleons invading armies, brings the evening to an electrifying conclusion, accompanied by a glittering display of pyrotechnics from the Edinburgh Castle ramparts. Visit eif.co.uk/virginmoneyreworks 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 66 for further details.
Ravel Noctuelles, Oiseaux tristes, Une barque sur locan and Alborada del gracioso from Miroirs Liszt 12 Transcendental Studies
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Author and academic Randall Stevenson, Professor of TwentiethCentury Literature at the University of Edinburgh, leads a discussion on the cultural impact of war and how it inuenced the course of poetry, theatre and ction from the 19th to the 20th centuries. With Robyn Marsack, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, and theatre academic Octavian Saiu.
Monday 11 August 5.00pm
Beacon of Light: The new Edinburgh International Festival and the arts in post-war Society
Dr Angela Bartie talks with Lloyd Anderson, Director of the British Council Scotland, about the origins and development of the Edinburgh International Festival and its role in promoting international dialogue and improving cultural relations after the Second World War.
Thursday 21 August 2.30pm
Objecting to War
Initially entering the language in response to the First World War, pacism as a term was applied to viewpoints that ranged from conscientious objection to war weariness and defeatism. Martin Ceadel, Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford, explores the subject. Chaired by Sir Adam Roberts.
Tuesday 12 August 5.00pm
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War on Film
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University of Edinburgh
Lex Pacicatoria: Using Law to End Wars
This lecture by Professor Christine Bell looks at the rise of negotiated settlements as a tool for ending contemporary wars and the legal, political and moral controversies that those settlements cause. It draws on her work arguing that a new lex pacicatoria or law of the peacemakers has developed as a way of managing these controversies. Chaired by Professor Dorothy Miell, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science.
Thursday 28 August 2.30pm
War on Film
Come and See
Image The Producers, courtesy Rialto Pictures
The Producers
Dir. Mel Brooks 1968 / 88 mins / PG Mel Brooks brilliant and hilarious cult classic musical set in the late 1960s tells the story of an accountant and producer who set out to make a Broadway op that despite their best efforts turns out to be a huge success.
Monday 25 August 3.30pm
Dir. Elem Klimov 1985 / 142 mins / 15 Come and See is a psychological thriller set during the Nazi occupation of the Belorussian SSR. A young boy nds an air rie and joins the Soviet Army and is thrust into the atrocities of war.
Sunday 24 August 5.00pm
Killing Civilians
Leading humanitarian studies scholar Dr Hugo Slim and international relations expert Jennifer Welsh discuss the issue of civilian suffering inrecent conicts, in the company of Judith Robertson, former Head ofOxfam Scotland.
Tuesday 26 August 2.30pm
A discussion hosted by the Centre for Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh, led by Director Charlie Jeffery, on the complex relationship between conict and culture. With Professor Chris Breward, Vice Principal Creative Industries and Performing Arts, Professor Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental Linguistics, and Professor John Holden, cultural relations expert.
Thursday 28 August 5.00pm
Hunger
Dir. Steve McQueen 2008 / 96 mins / 15 British artist Steve McQueens lm debut Hunger is a historical drama that follows life in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland, with the events surrounding Bobby Sands 1981 IRA hunger strike.
Monday 25 August 5.30pm
The Hub Tickets* 6 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/university
Joyeux Nol
Dir. Christian Carion 2005 / 116 mins / 12A Joyeux Nol is a French lm that retells the true story of the impromptu Christmas truce declared by French, Scottish and German troops in the trenches ofthe First World War.
Sunday 24 August 2.30pm
Dir. Uwe Boll 2009 / 98 mins / 15 Darfur tells the story of a group of Western journalists in Sudan who visit a small village to gather footage and interviews in the hope of reporting on the violence they have seen.
Monday 25 August 7.30pm
Ran
Dir. Akira Kurosawa 1985 / 160 mins / 15 Based on Shakespeares KingLear, Ran tells the story of Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate his throne in favour of his three sons Taro, Jiro andSaburo.
Saturday 23 August 2.30pm
The Hub Tickets* 6 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. Special Offer Book for 5 or more events and save 50% 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/cultureandconict
The Hub Tickets* 6 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. eif.co.uk/lms
Filmhouse
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Festival Insights
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Escaping War
Festival Insights
THE DEMOCRATIC SET: Back to Back Theatre and Lung Has Theatre Company
Australias Back to Back Theatre and Edinburgh-based Lung Has Theatre Company have worked together on THE DEMOCRATIC SET residency, a rapid series of short live performances and screen-based video portraits created in collaboration with local actors. Responding to the needs of the local performers, the lm explores an alternative view of the world through some very personal portraits. Inthis discussion and screening event, the two companies talk about the project and the nished lm. Director Bruce Gladwin also answers questions about his ground-breaking production Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, which will be shown during Festival 2014.
Monday 11 August 2.30pm eif.co.uk/democraticset
Bitter Music: Harry Partchs diary with David Moss Hebrides Ensemble
Members of the renowned Scottish ensemble, including co-founder and artistic director William Conway, talk to Oliver Condy about Stravinskys The Soliders Tale, which they perform during their Queens Hall concert on 9 August.
Sunday 10 August 12 noon
Stan Douglas
Canadian artist Stan Douglas talks with Fruitmarket Gallery Director Fiona Bradley about his lm and contribution to Canadian Stages production of Helen Lawrence.
Monday 25 August 12 noon Supported by
Bal Moderne
Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust
The Hub Tickets* 6 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/conversations Friday 15 August, Saturday 16 August & Sunday 17 August 2.30pm The Hub Tickets* 12 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/balmoderne
A dance lm event with archival footage and live music inspired by the songs and dances of wartime Europe. This immersive dance experience invites the audience to dress up in period clothes, joining singers, ensemble musicians and participatory dance specialists BalModerne to experience wartime era dance culture. Bal Modernes choreographies are specially designed for people with no experience of dance and each has a different theme so come along, dress up and experience the joy and escapism of dancing during turbulent times!
Bitter Music is the rediscovered diary of Harry Partchs seven-month travels as a tramp and day labourer. Accompanying the staging of his last great opera, Delusion of the Fury, during Festival 2014 this chronicle offers insights into the beginnings of the uncompromising artist that he became. American percussionist and vocal virtuoso DavidMoss presents part of this musical text in a lecture performance.
Friday 29 August 2.30pm eif.co.uk/bittermusic
Samuel Pisar
UNESCO Honorary Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Education Samuel Pisar talks to broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles about his highly personal narration which accompanies Bernsteins Kaddish Symphony.
Tuesday 26 August 5.00pm
Inala
Members of the creative team behind Inala discuss their hybrid dance and music production, in the company of Dame MonicaMason.
Tuesday 12 August 12 noon
Takcs Quartet
Recognised as one of the worlds great music ensembles, the Takcs Quartet talks to music critic Richard Morrison about its unique artistic vision.
Friday 22 August 5.00pm
Ute Lemper
Iconic German cabaret star Ute Lemper talks to Jamie MacDougall about her life and work.
Thursday 14 August 12 noon
William Kentridge
The South African artist discusses his role in the creation of Ubu and the Truth Commission with Fruitmarket Gallery Director FionaBradley.
Friday 29 August 12 noon
The Hub Tickets* 6 *Fees apply. See page 66 for details. 1 hour 20 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/insights
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Exhibition
Primordial:
SuperNaturalBayiMinyjirral
Danie Mellor
Acclaimed contemporary Australian artist Danie Mellor devises an intriguing exhibition that navigates between his own highly evocative works on paper developed from selected objects in the World Cultures Collection of National Museums Scotland, and his own indigenous and European heritage. Thehistorical and colonial obsessions of Mellors work respond to an array of wonders from the worlds of science, technology and nature, suggesting ways of appreciating the complex intertwined narratives of Scotland and Australia. Presented by National Museums Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival. With the support ofMichael Reid, Sydney, Australia.
1 August 23 November 10.00am 5.00pm daily National Museum of Scotland Free eif.co.uk/daniemellor
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How to Book
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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 Wednesday 19 March Priority booking opens for Festival Friends and Patrons at 10.00am online, by post and fax. Saturday 29 March Public booking opens at 10.00am online, in person, by telephone and post.
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 29 March. Under 18s, students in full-time education and Young Scot cardholders.
Special Offers
Culture and Conict Talks Buy for 5 or more events and save 50%. See pages 5860 for details. The James Plays Buy for all three plays and save 20%. Offer excludes Preview performances. See pages 1012 for details. Inala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo Book for both Inala and the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert andreceive a 20% discount. See pages 2223 for details. Kronos Quartet Book for both the Kronos Quartets Beyond Zero: 19141918 at the Festival Theatre and its Usher Hall concert on 19 August and geta20%discount. See pages 31 and 40 for details. Festival Theatre Les Troyens supper offer Make the most of your evening at the Mariinsky performances of LesTroyens at the Festival Theatre this summer, with a special interval picnic supper. Enjoy a Simple, Seafood or Deli picnic supper from as little as 8.50! Suppers must be pre-booked up to two days before the performance. Simply add them to your basket when booking your tickets by phone, online or in person. All ticket offers must be booked in the same transaction, and all offers and discounts are subject to availability.
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 of theperformance. Simply select your preferred option when you makeyour booking.
Group Bookings
We are delighted to offer great benets for bookings of 10 or moretickets. 10% discount on all full price Festival tickets for selected performances The opportunity to make exible ticket reservations Dedicated Group Sales Staff to assist you Please call +44 (0)131 473 2089 or email groupbookings@eif.co.uk
When buying tickets in person or by phone, remember to add aprogramme voucher for each show and if buying online remember toadd the required number of programme vouchers to your basket.
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Festival City
Festival City
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Festival City
Getting around
The following Lothian Bus services will take you to Festival venues lothianbuses.com The Edinburgh Playhouse 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 34, 44, 45, 49 Festival Theatre, Playfair Library Hall, National Museum of Scotland 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 47, 49 The Hub, Greyfriars Kirk 23, 27, 41, 42, 67 (stop on George IV Bridge, 5 minutes walk from The Hub or Greyfriars Kirk) Kings Theatre 10, 11, 15, 15A, 16, 23, 24, 27, 36, 45 The Queens Hall 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 45, 47, 49 Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 1, 10, 11, 15, 15A, 16, 24, 34, 36, 47 Usher Hall 1, 10, 11, 15, 15A, 16, 24, 34, 36, 47 2
Festival Venues
Partner Hotels
on map
GR EE NS ID E
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh The Caledonian (A3) Princes Street Edinburgh EH1 2AB +44 (0)131 222 8888 thecaledonian. waldorfastoria.com The Glasshouse, an Autograph Collection Hotel (E1) 2 Greenside Place Edinburgh EH1 3AA +44 (0)131 525 8200 theglasshousehotel.co.uk Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Edinburgh (D4) 11 Bristo Place Edinburgh EH1 1EZ +44 (0)131 247 4900 hotelduvin.com/ hotels/edinburgh Macdonald Holyrood Hotel (E3) 81 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AU +44 (0)131 550 4500 macdonaldhotels. co.uk/holyrood
Tourist Information Centre Book Festival Tattoo Ofce Ross Theatre The Hub Edinburghs Festival Centre Usher Hall Royal Lyceum Theatre
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Photo Shutterstock
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Edinburgh International Book Festival 925 August +44 (0)131 718 5666 edbookfest.co.uk Edinburgh Mela 2931 August +44 (0)131 661 7100 edinburgh-mela.co.uk edinburghfestivals.co.uk The online one-stop shop for Edinburghs 12 major festivals. The place to go to nd news, listings and the festivals iPhone app.
Look out for exclusive offers from our Festival partners at eif.co.uk/partneroffers The Hub Edinburghs Festival Centre, Royal Mile Festival Theatre Nicolson Street The Queens Hall Clerk Street Usher Hall Grindlay Street Ross Theatre Princes Street Gardens Kings Theatre Leven Street
Other Festivals
B3 B3 B5 International Book Festival Charlotte Square A2 Jazz and Blues Festival Box Ofce The Hub
C3 D4 E5
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 123 August Ofcial Edinburgh +44 (0)131 225 1188 Festivals Map edintattoo.co.uk Pick up a copy of the ofcial festivals map, available at Edinburgh Festival Fringe most venues around town 125 August during the festivals. Admin: +44 (0)131 226 0026 Box ofce: +44 (0)131 226 0000 (June to September only) edfringe.com
C3
The Edinburgh Playhouse Greenside Place E1 Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh Grindlay Street
Playfair Library Hall Old College, South Bridge D3 Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Place National Museum of Scotland Chambers Street D4
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Ofce Market Street D2 Festival Fringe Box Ofce Royal Mile D3 Tourist Information Centre Princes Street D2
B3
D3
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Festival Diary
5 7 August Fri 8 August Sat 9 August
11.00am Hebrides Ensemble (p48)
Festival Diary
Sun 10 August Mon 11 August
11.00am Nicola Benedetti Anna-Liisa Bezrodny Benjamin Gilmore Leonard Elschenbroich Alexei Grynyuk (p48)
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Tue 12 August
11.00am Ian Bostridge, Julius Drake (p49)
Wed 13 August
11.00am Alban Gerhardt, Steven Osborne (p49)
Thu 14 August
11.00am Artemis Quartet (p50)
Fri 15 August
11.00am Piotr Anderszewski (p50)
Sat 16 August
11.00am Trio Verlaine (p51)
Sun 17 August
Mon 18 August
11.00am Anna Prohaska, Eric Schneider (p51)
Tue 19 August
11.00am Michael Houstoun (p52)
The Hub
Castlehill L LF WS T WC C
2.30pm Culture and Conict: The War that Ended Peace (p58) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: First World War: Re-thinking the Centenary (p58)
12 noon Conversations: Hebrides Ensemble (p62) 2.30pm Culture and Conict: High Command in War (p58) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: The Culture of Violence in the Twentieth Century (p58)
12 noon Culture and Conict: Quartet for the End of Time (p58) 2.30pm Festival Insights: THE DEMOCRATIC SET (p63) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: Culture and Conict (p58)
12 noon Conversations: Inala (p62) 2.30pm Culture and Conict: The War Requiem (p58) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: Objecting to War (p58)
2.30pm Culture and Conict: The First World War and Australias Rise to Nationhood (p59) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: Gallipoli: The End of the Myth (p59)
12 noon Conversations: UteLemper (p62) 2.30pm Culture and Conict: Contemporary Military Operations Risks and Responsibilities (p59) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: The Road to 11 November (p59)
12 noon Conversations: The James Plays (p62) 2.30pm Culture and Conict: Owen Wingrave: Ghosts of Tradition (p59) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: From Red Clydeside to Radical Scotland (p59)
2.30pm Culture and Conict: Women and the Killing Fields: Femininity and War (p59) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front (p59)
Greyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Place L WS WC
Kings Theatre
Leven Street LF L WS H WC
8.00pm The War (p13) Chekov International Theatre Festival / SounDrama Studio
3.00pm 8.00pm The War (p13) Chekov International Theatre Festival / SounDrama Studio
8.00pm The War (p13) Chekov International Theatre Festival / SounDrama Studio
Festival Theatre
Nicolson Street L R LF WS H WC C
Tue 5 August 7.30pm Preview: James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) Thu 7 August 7.30pm Preview: James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm Preview: James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
12 noon James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) 4.00pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) 8.15pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
12 noon James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) 4.00pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) 8.15pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
12 noon James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) 4.00pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) 8.15pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain 8.00pm I AM (p24) MAU
7.30pm James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm Ganesh Versus the Third Reich (p14) Back to Back Theatre
2.30pm Ganesh Versus the Third Reich (p14) Back to Back Theatre
7.30pm Ganesh Versus the Third Reich (p14) Back to Back Theatre
7.30pm Ganesh Versus the Third Reich (p14) Back to Back Theatre
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 10.30am until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 10.30am until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Usher Hall
Lothian Road L LF WS WC C
7.30pm The Opening Concert (p34) Royal Scottish National Orchestra Oliver Knussen conductor
8.00pm Holsts The Planets (p35) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles conductor
7.30pm Hesprion XXI, Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya (p36) Jordi Savall director
8.00pm Brittens War Requiem (p37) Philharmonia Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis conductor
7.30pm Ute Lemper, Scottish Chamber Orchestra (p38) Lawrence Foster conductor
7.30pm Bachs Mass in B minor (p38) Collegium Vocale Gent Choir and Orchestra Philippe Herreweghe conductor
7.30pm Shostakovichs Leningrad Symphony (p39) I, CULTURE Orchestra Kirill Karabits conductor
Access Facilities Key: L Level access R Ramped access LF Lift SL Stair lift WS Wheelchair spaces in auditorium T Induction loop H Infrared system WC Accessible toilets C Accessible catering/bar
Events Key:
Dance
Theatre
Opera
Music
Cultural Explorers
Discussions
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Festival Diary
Wed 20 August
11.00am Simon Keenlyside, Malcolm Martineau (p52)
Festival Diary
Thu 21 August
11.00am Renaud Capuon Hanna Weinmeister Edgar Moreau Jrme Ducros (p53)
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Fri 22 August
11.00am Takcs Quartet (p53)
Sat 23 August
11.00am Takcs Quartet (p53)
Sun 24 August
Mon 25 August
11.00am Anne Soe von Otter Daniel Hope Bengt Forsberg Bebe Risenfors (p54)
Tue 26 August
11.00am Scottish Ensemble, Commonwealth Strings (p54)
Wed 27 August
11.00am Stphane Degout, Simon Lepper (p55)
Thu 28 August
11.00am Pavel Haas Quartet (p55)
Fri 29 August
11.00am Frank Peter Zimmermann, Christian Zacharias (p56)
Sat 30 August
11.00am Daniil Trifonov (p56)
The Hub
Castlehill L LF WS T WC C
12 noon Conversations: The Tallis Scholars (p62) 2.30pm Culture and Conict: War, Atrocities and the Truth (p59)
2.30pm Culture and Conict: Beacon of Light: The new Edinburgh International Festival and the arts in post-war Society (p59) 4.30pm Edinburgh International Festival Young Peoples Lecture: Emmanuel Jal (p63)
2.30pm Culture and Conict: How War Reporting Has Changed: ACentury On (p60) 5.00pm Conversations: Takcs Quartet (p62)
War on Film (p61): 12 noon Talk: Permanent Post-War Cinema? 2.30pm Joyeux Nol 5.00pm Come and See 7.45pm The Tin Drum
12 noon Conversations: Stan Douglas (p62) War on Film (p61): 2.30pm Night and Fog 3.30pm The Producers 5.30pm Hunger 7.30pm Darfur
2.30pm Culture and Conict: Killing Civilians (p60) 5.00pm Conversations: Samuel Pisar (p61)
2.30pm Culture and Conict: The Peace to End Peace (p60) 5.00pm Culture and Conict: ACentury on the Edge: From Cold War to Hot World, 1945 2045 (p60)
2.30pm Lex Pacicatoria: Using Law to End Wars (p60) 5.00pm Scotland in the Soft Power Era (p60)
12 noon Conversations: William Kentridge (p62) 2.30pm Festival Insights: Bitter Music: Harry Partchs diary with David Moss (p63)
Primordial: SuperNaturalBayiMinyjirral
Danie Mellor (p64) National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street L LF WC T Friday 1 August Sunday 23 November Open daily 10.00am 5.00pm
Greyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Place L WS WC
Kings Theatre
Leven Street LF L WS H WC
Festival Theatre
Nicolson Street L R LF WS H WC C
12 noon James I: The Key Shall Keep The Lock (p10) 4.00pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) 8.15pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James II: Day of The Innocents (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
7.30pm James III: The True Mirror (p12) National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre of Great Britain
8.00pm Ubu and the Truth Commission (p20) Handspring Puppet Company
8.00pm Ubu and the Truth Commission (p20) Handspring Puppet Company
2.30pm 8.00pm Ubu and the Truth Commission (p20) Handspring Puppet Company
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 10.30am until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 10.30am until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Every 20 minutes from 2.00pm until 5.50pm Exhibit B (p33) THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT
Usher Hall
Lothian Road L LF WS WC C
7.30pm Collegium Vocale Gent, Scottish Chamber Orchestra (p40) Philippe Herreweghe conductor
7.30pm Bernsteins Kaddish Symphony (p41) Royal Scottish National Orchestra John Axelrod conductor
6.30pm William Tell (p43) Teatro Regio Torino Gianandrea Noseda conductor
8.00pm Mahlers Symphony No 6 (p45) Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Yannick Nzet-Sguin conductor
Access Facilities Key: L Level access R Ramped access LF Lift SL Stair lift WS Wheelchair spaces in auditorium T Induction loop H Infrared system WC Accessible toilets C Accessible catering/bar
Events Key:
Dance
Theatre
Opera
Music
Cultural Explorers
Discussions