Sunday 13 August – Sunday 3 September
60th FESTIVAL PRESENTS WORLD CLASS PROGRAMME WITH BROAD AUDIENCE APPEAL
Brian McMaster today announced his final programme as Director of the Edinburgh International Festival. At the launch in Edinburgh he said “The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the most exciting places in the world to experience the performing arts, enabling us to present world class experiences to the widest possible audience. The Festival constantly evolves, re-imagining itself each year to bring new experiences to audiences and creating new initiatives such as the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts.”
The 2006 Edinburgh International Festival runs from Sunday 13 August to Sunday 3 September in Edinburgh’s concert halls, opera houses and theatres. World class artists and companies fill the city’s stages, creating a unique event which has visitors flocking from across the globe.
Highlights of Festival 2006 include Claudio Abbado conducting Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Charles Mackerras conducting all of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, Peter Stein directing both Tchaikovsky’s opera Mazeppa and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, large scale ballet with the UK premiere of Balanchine’s Don Quixote, and a host of international orchestras and artists.
The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts challenge the conventions of concert going and the traditions of how audiences experience music. For three nights each week there are three concerts a night, each concert is approximately an hour in length and each features the work of one composer. Across the nine evenings of the series, there is the opportunity to hear all nine Beethoven symphonies conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras at 5.30pm, and to hear nine of Bruckner’s symphonies performed by leading orchestras and conductors at 9.30pm. At 7.30pm the focus is on a masterwork by one composer. The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts can be enjoyed horizontally or vertically, by attending all 27, by collecting symphonies or by choosing the concerts that most appeal at times which can be worked into flexible Festival days, for one ticket price of £10.
Brian McMaster added, “I think the 2006 Festival programme has popular appeal. There are excellent opportunities for first timers to choose from a broad range of world class experiences which I hope will get them hooked and returning to the arts again and again. At the same time I know we have events this year which will have seasoned arts goers booking flights from around the world. This year is obviously a very special Festival for me. Many artists I admire expressed a wish to be in my final Festival and many supporters have invested that bit extra this year.”
The Festival continues to increase its earned income. In a very strong year for fundraising, the Festival has already secured in excess of £2.25 million from the corporate sector, trusts and foundations, and individuals. The Festival benefits from a significant increase in income from the Festival’s Patrons and Muses scheme and a major boost from trusts and foundations. Costs are also reduced through co-productions of events which receive their world premieres at the Festival, making the Edinburgh Festival the place to see things first in the face of increasing international competition. This year the Edinburgh International Festival will co-produce opera and theatre productions with the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Teatre Romea, Barcelona.
On the launch of Festival 2006, Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport said, “The Edinburgh International Festival is unique to Scotland, drawing people from across the globe to enjoy artists and performances of world class calibre. This year’s programme is exciting and is a fitting farewell from Brian McMaster, who over fifteen years as Festival Director has proved himself as a visionary and inspirational leader. He has helped to ensure that Edinburgh in August remains one of the most exciting cities in the world to sample the performing arts, and his final Festival line-up offers many delights which I look forward to sampling.”
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
