Classical & Contemporary Picks: Who to see at Edinburgh International Festival 2024
Within the many cultural occasions that might tempt one to visit Edinburgh, the International Festival remains the city’s longest standing festival that spans generations of musical and artistic eras. It is acclaimed for its largely classical line-up featuring mediums such as opera, theatre, and dance.
This year’s festival will span August 2nd to the 25th with over 2000 artists from 42 countries. Within the lineup, we are lucky to see a host of new additions that bring the heights of cutting-edge contemporary music to the table. Meanwhile, the Festival also offers an opportunity to discover within realm of classical arts, something that I, and I’m sure many others, would overlook.
Before listing off events names, dates, and so on, I want to emphasise the festival’s affordable prices that broaden the scope of who can participate in art and music. This is crucial to sustain both artists and fans alike so with concessions £30 and under, it’s clear that the festival hopes to attract a larger audience than ever before.
Though there are many contemporary artists that perhaps lie closer to our normal remit (found in the back-end of the article). The festival this year will showcase some classical experiences which straddle both a strong loyalty to Scottish cultural identity as well as a wider global influence.
Occupying the National Museum of Scotland on from August 12-19, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex is set to be performed by a 100-strong community chorus picked from across Scotland. Which fits neatly into their intentions for a string of operas that centre around death, love and lust. Along with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Bizet’s Carmen to build upon these heady themes.
In terms of purely orchestral experiences, there is a fairly dizzying variety to the programme this year. Sao Paolo’s Ilumina collective will be “uniting leading soloists with gifted young musicians from Latin America”. August 14th will mark their first time at the festival - they will be one of many sets to play for an audience resting solely on bean bags strewn across the space.
A particular highlight from the dance line-up was Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young’s Scottish premiere of Assembly Hall from August 22-24. Taking place in a derelict community hall, a troupe of medieval re-enactors stage their annual meeting. However, as the meeting progresses, dark powers awaken and; “it becomes increasingly clear that the quest to save their re-enactment society from dissolution is a matter of life and death.”.
Émilie Monnet and Waira Nina will bring their play Nigamon/Tunai for its European debut on August 15-18. This promises to be a tactile multi-sensory experience that delves into the recesses of tradition and culture and the pressures set on them by environmental destruction, all at the hands of the gluttonous fuel and mining industries.
The contemporary line-up is packed with exciting talent. When speaking to Bryn Ormerod, who manages the Festival’s booking, about curation, they said that preference was given to “artists who defy conventional categorisations and labels. With this, it allows me to craft a truly unique lineup without having to compete with other major festivals for the same talent.”
Namely in this case, Cat Power will be gripping the hefty chalice that is Bob Dylan’s famous 1966 Albert Hall concert. On August 18th, she will be performing a rendition of his show, song by song, in order, true to the original setlist. The first half being fully acoustic, before transitioning to electric.
Bat for Lashes has promised to unveil new songs on August 23rd, giving fans a chance to bag an early listen of The Dream of Delphi. Her latest full studio album no doubt full of euphoric drama. Also, Pianist Chilly Gonzales will return to the festival with his typical comedic compositions spanning a multitude of genres.
Seemingly a festival favourite, the GRIT Orchestra will pay homage to Martyn Bennet, a great pioneer of modern Celtic fusion, on August 25th. Unifying interest in Scandinavian and Islamic traditions with techno and breakbeat. The 80- piece orchestra won the Scottish Awards for New Music for innovation in New Traditional Music, and is bound to stretch the limits of what we hold familiar.
Lastly, a definite highlight will be Grammy Award Nominee Jordan Rakei showcasing his fifth studio album The Loop which channels influences like Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield through choral ensembles, orchestral spells, and hypnotic beats. This takes place at Usher Hall on August 8th.
There are plenty more inviting artists which make up this list and I urge you to check out as many mediums, genres, ethos’, intentions, stances, vibes and the like of in Edinburgh this summer.