Search: 5-10 - Edinburgh Festival Guide

The players of France’s Ébène Quartet bring this year’s Queen’s Hall concerts to a thrilling conclusion. Praised for their inspirational performances and for a musical maturity well beyond their years, over the last decade they have steadily marked out a reputation as one of the world’s most compelling and sought-after ensembles.
As at home in sophisticated jazz and pop arrangements as they are in classical music, they bring an all-classical concert rich in contrasts.
Haydn’s brightly coloured ‘Emperor’ Quartet is one of his most popular chamber pieces, famous for its slow-movement melody which later became the German national anthem. Mendelssohn wrote his richlyRomantic Second Quartet when he was just 18, and Bartók’s Fourth Quartet is a tour de force of virtuosity and expression.
‘one of the most dynamic and talented ensembles of its kind’ The Boston Globe
Saturday 31 August 11.00amThe Queen’s Hall
Tickets£29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8
1 hour 45 minutes approximately
eif.co.uk/quatuorebene
Supported byDonald and Louise MacDonald
 

French soprano Véronique Gens forged her international reputation as an inspirational singer of Baroque music, and she brings the same lucid purity so valued in that repertoire to a recital of Romantic,19th-century songs from her homeland, accompanied by the delicate playing of Susan Manoff.
Gens combines stylish poise with a strong sense of drama in a diverse programme, from Fauré’s mysterious dream of elopement Après un rêve to the unforgettably evocative L’invitation au voyage by Duparc. After rare discoveries by Chausson and early masterpieces by Debussy, she concludes with exotic songs by Hahn inspired by far-off antiquity.
‘every nuance beautifully shaded, every word sumptuously delivered’ The Big Issue
This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Friday 30 August 11.00amThe Queen’s Hall
Tickets£29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8
1 hour 45 minutes approximately
eif.co.uk/gens-manoff
Supported by John-Paul and Joanna Temperley

Nigel Osborne, composer and former Reid Professor of Music, explores the complexities of music, mind and the application of technology in a therapeutic setting.
Chaired by Raymond MacDonald, Professor of Music Psychology and Improvisation, and introduced by Dorothy Miell, Vice Principal and Head of Humanities and Social Science.
Friday 30 August 2.30pm
1 hour and 30 minutes approximately
The Hub
Tickets £6
eif.co.uk/university

Shaping Things: Artefacts and the 3D Printer In this workshop led by Chris Speed, you can play at 3D Chinese whispers, adapting objectsand artefacts using time-lapse technology until they no longer resemble their original form. Friday 30 August 12 noon 4 hours approximately Sculpture Court, Edinburgh College of Art Tickets £6

Cultural Dialogue August 2012 saw the inaugural Edinburgh International Culture Summit, an event that brought together Culture Ministers and officials from over 30 nations for a series of conversations about forging international dialogue through culture. Initiated by the Edinburgh International Festival in partnership with the British Council, Scottish Government and UK Government and hosted by the Scottish Parliament, the success of this event was a powerful reminder in a fractured world of a belief in the power ofculture and the arts to transform individual lives and national ambitions. A panel, including British Council Chief Executive Martin Davidson and Festival Director Jonathan Mills, discusses the role of arts and culture in facilitating international dialogue and understanding. Chaired by broadcaster James Naughtie. Friday 30 August 5.00pmThe HubTickets £61 hour approximately

Beckett at the Festival Beckett on Film Producer of the Beckett on Film project, Michael Colgan discusses the challenges in creating thisextraordinary film collection. Friday 30 August 12 noon1 hour approximately   The Hub Tickets £6 eif.co.uk/beckettevents

Synthetic Biology: Where Organic Meets Digital
In this lecture demonstration Alan Murray, Head of the School of Design at ECA, shows us howsynthetic biologists, designers, artists, engineers and computer scientists can work together.
Thursday 29 August 12 noon
2 hours approximately
Sculpture Court, Edinburgh College of Art
Tickets £6

Professor of Communication, Arts and Religion Jolyon Mitchell hosts a discussion with historian,broadcaster and author Bettany Hughes and Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and InterreligiousStudies, on the relationships between research and the media and the demands of addressing differentaudiences.
Thursday 29 August 5.00pm
1 hour approximately
The Hub
Tickets £6
eif.co.uk/university

Ensemble musikFabrik Members of Ensemble musikFabrik talk to composer John Harris about their unique artistic vision. Thursday 29 August 12 noon Supported byGordon Fraser Charitable Trust The Hub Tickets £6 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/conversations

FlercussionLMN Scotland/UK The song and dance of Piazzolla’s South American tango music, a Shostakovich waltz and Debussy’s La belle au bois dormant performed by Jo Ashcroft (flute) with Calum Huggan (marimba and percussion) Thursday 29 August 9.00pm Supported byIan Stoutzker Tickets £10 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/cafeconcerts