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Wed 22 Mar 2006

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker

Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts: 3 concerts a night, 3 nights a week for 3 weeks

Richard Goode in Festival Residency

Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall Series presents world renowned artists, including eight EIF debuts

Visiting Orchestras include Minnesota Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir Charles Mackerras conducts all nine Beethoven Symphonies

The 2006 Festival offers many ways to experience the thrill of listening to live music. There is the ever popular Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall Series, chamber concerts at 11.00am every day except Sundays; and this year, in addition to main evening concerts at the Usher Hall featuring major orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, is a new series: the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts, which present a new format for classical music concerts, with hour long concerts focusing on single composers.

The 2006 Festival opens with a concert performance of Strauss’s Elektra conducted by Edward Gardner. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra plays and a starry line up of soloists includes Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet in the title role. (Sun 13 August, 8.00pm, Usher Hall. Sponsored by Scottish and Newcastle plc)

The Usher Hall concerts include András Schiff playing Beethoven sonatas; Donald Runnicles conducting the Orchestra of St Luke’s and Richard Goode (Sponsored by Mactaggart & Mickel); the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester conducted by Philippe Jordan with mezzo soprano Susan Graham; Schumann’s dramatic Manfred played by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov (Supported by the Léan Scully EIF Trust); the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Richard Goode conducted by Iván Fischer (Sponsored by IBM); Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä appear with pianist Llŷr Williams (Supported by Léan Scully EIF Trust); Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano perform Wolf and Schubert (Supported by The Director’s Circle); a recital by Richard Goode includes works by Bach, Scheonberg Brahms and Schubert; and Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker are joined by Frank Peter Zimmermann and Lisa Milne (Supported by MacDonald Orr).

Pianist Richard Goode’s Festival residency continues with violinist Marcia Weinfeld at the Canongate Kirk, and a Lecture Recital on Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in A flat Op 110 at The Queen’s Hall.

Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts is a new series offering audiences a rare opportunity to hear not only all of Beethoven’s symphonies but also nine of Bruckner’s. 3 concerts a night, 3 nights a week for the 3 weeks of the Festival the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts each feature one major composer, last for around an hour and all tickets are one price, £10. The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts can be enjoyed horizontally, taking in all the symphonies of Beethoven or Bruckner or masterworks from Mahler, Bach, Strauss and Vaughan Williams, or vertically, starting at 5.30pm with a Beethoven symphony conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, enjoying a Masterwork at 7.30pm, such as Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 played by the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer with pianist Richard Goode, and returning to cap it all off with a Bruckner Symphony at 9.30pm played by one of a range of fantastic orchestras.

Tue 15, Thu 17, Sat 19, Tue 22, Thu 24, Sat 26, Sun 27, Wed 30 August and Fri 1 September. 5.30pm, 7.30pm, 9.30pm, Usher Hall. All tickets £10. Sponsored by Lloyds TSB Scotland.

The Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall Series continues to delight audiences every morning at 11.00am, Monday to Saturday. World renowned artists, including eight Edinburgh International Festival debuts, perform in the intimate Queen’s Hall atmosphere. This year artists include pianist Steven Osborne, flautist Emily Beynon with pianist Andrew West, outstanding Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski with pianist Marita Viitasalo, pianist Cédric Tiberghien, the Arcanto Quartet, the eminent Trio Wanderer, exciting young pianist David Fung, the Scottish Ensemble with mezzo soprano Jane Irwin and tenor Andrew Kennedy, tenor Jonas Kaufmann with pianist Helmut Deutsch, pianist Christian Zacharias, bass baritone Robert Holl, baritone Simon Keenlyside with pianist Malcolm Martineau, charismatic soprano Angela Denoke with pianist Matthias Veit, pianist Ivan Moravec, soprano Anne Schwanewilms with pianist Malcolm Martineau, cellist Pieter Wispelway, and the stunning Belcea Quartet and oboist Stefan Schilli.

All concerts 11am at The Queen’s Hall. Tickets from £6. Sponsored by Bank of Scotland.

The grand finale to the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival season is the spectacular Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert, the largest annual pyro-concert in Europe with fireworks set off from Edinburgh Castle choreographed to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra playing Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet conducted by Garry Walker in Princes Street Gardens on Sunday 3 September at 9.00pm. Sponsored by Bank of Scotland.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Public Booking opens Saturday 8 April 2006

Hub Tickets 0131 473 2000

Online information and booking www.eif.co.uk

Postal Booking to Edinburgh International Festival, Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE

Please see enclosed brochure for full programme information and listings.

We can supply Festival listings and information in any format you require, please contact the press office.

The Edinburgh International Festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Arts Council and EventScotland.

Please contact the EIF Press Office for further information: +44 (0)131 473 2020, press@eif.co.uk.