It was quite a Friday night Edinburgh International Festival! TWO 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 concerts in one evening from Bamberg Symphony & Wynton Marsalis. Here's my review theartsdesk.com

Here's my review of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex from Scottish Opera Edinburgh International Festival in National Museums Scotland, a zany idea that just about works. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in this list from The Times and The Sunday Times Times Culture The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland thetimes.com/culture/theatr…

At the risk of agreeing with myself, yes! This Mahler 9 on period instruments from Alpha Classics is a revelation. My disc of 2024 so far.

Here's my ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review theartsdesk.com of Ian Bostridge Edinburgh International Festival, scaling the heights and plumbing the depths of Schubert's Schwanengesang.

Here's my review of Barokksolistene as part of Edinburgh International Festival's beanbag series Usher Hall: riotously entertaining and joyously inclusive. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ in today's The Times and The Sunday Times The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland Times Culture thetimes.com/article/8ed35d…

The end of an era: here's my review of Sir Mark Elder's final concert in charge of The Hallé at last weekend's Edinburgh International Festival. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Bachtrack bachtrack.com/22/296/view/27…

Here's my review of EUYO - European Union Youth Orchestra @edintfeat last weekend. Playing that's stunningly fresh. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ theartsdesk.com

Here's my review theartsdesk.com of Komische Oper Berlin's Marriage of Figaro at Edinburgh International Festival. It's great the EIF is taking risks, but this one didn't pay off. ⭐⭐ 😟

Here's a Edinburgh International Festival review SeenandHeard-Int of the superstars of the Takács Quartet playing Haydn, Schubert and, best of all, a joyous new work by Nokuthula Endo Ngwenyama. Mahan Esfahani's reverential atmosphere felt overdone by comparison. seenandheard-international.com/2024/08/the-ta…

Pianist Seong-Jin Cho impersonates Liszt (very convincingly) at The Queen's Hall and saves a Beethoven concert Usher Hall; all par for the course Edinburgh International Festival. Here's my review SeenandHeard-Int seenandheard-international.com/2024/08/seong-…

Here's a review SeenandHeard-Int of Midori, and the superb Irish Baroque Orchestra, both as part of Edinburgh International Festival's The Queen's Hall series. seenandheard-international.com/2024/08/irish-…

That's it for 2024! Thank you very much Edinburgh International Festival for all the tickets, the programmes, the performances, the joy. And most of all, thank you for the music.

Here's my final Edinburgh International Festival review for The Times and The Sunday Times this year, featuring BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra & Donald Runnicles. Magisterial Bruckner, plus a donkey impression. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Times Culture The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland thetimes.com/culture/classi…

Here's my final review from 2024's Edinburgh International Festival, this time of Philharmonia Orchestra's residency in the final weekend. Superb orchestral playing, patchier singing and conducting, but everything cohered in Capriccio's final scene. Review theartsdesk.com theartsdesk.com/opera/verdis-r…

Here's my review of Scottish Opera's Albert Herring, Britten's village comedy produced at this year's Lammermuir Festival. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️in today's The Times and The Sunday Times. See it in Glasgow and Edinburgh this autumn. Times Culture The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland thetimes.com/culture/classi…

Here's my review of the first weekend of this year's Lammermuir Festival, a festival that feared the worst when their Creative Scotland funding was cut in 2023, but this year has come back stronger. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 in today's The Times and The Sunday Times The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland Times Culture thetimes.com/article/3026e2…

Here's my review of the one and only Veronique Gens singing with joseph middleton Lammermuir Festival. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bachtrack

Here's my review WhatsOnStage of Ian Rankin's new Rebus play Capital Theatres: Festival, King’s & Studio Edinburgh. It isn't brilliantly constructed, but Rebus on stage could be a rich seam to mine. #heriotrow