Mon 31 Jul 2006

A musical surprise awaits commuters and holiday-makers in Edinburgh, thanks to Edinburgh International Festival and Lloyds TSB Scotland - the famously evocative opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony played by two ‘musical’ bus stops in the city centre.

The entire symphony can be heard in its full glory performed live by Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra on Saturday 19 August at 5.30pm in the Usher Hall as part of the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts at Edinburgh International Festival - a completely new way of presenting classical concerts designed to appeal to a wider audience.

The colourful customised stops – by 123 Princes Street (Logo) and 86 Princes Street (H&M) – play Beethoven up to the opening night of the Edinburgh International Festival on Sunday 13 August.

Having waited for an age for one musical bus stop a third appears immediately afterwards, by 53-60 Princes Street (Marks & Spencer) playing a rousing extract from Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony from Monday 14 August until Sunday 27 August.

Sir Brian McMaster, Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, said: “The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts are an exciting new way to present classical music at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Fifth Symphony is one of Beethoven’s most popular and loved works and we hope the extracts played on Princes Street will encourage people to come along to the real thing - live!”

Lisa Stephenson, director of marketing, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: “The idea of our concert series was to make them accessible to a really wide audience by offering all seats at £10. These musical bus stops in the heart of the city will make sure tourists and locals alike really do get to hear what’s going on.”