Reviews & features: Music

Theatre, music and dance highlights from the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Semiramide and King Lear among picks

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has been a benchmark for quality and innovation in the performing arts since its inauguration nearly 65 years ago. This year artistic director Jonathan Mills builds his programme around the multi-faceted…

Music highlights from the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Melvyn Tan and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra among picks

Melvyn Tan. The Queen's Hall morning concerts can usually be relied on for a few Festival surprises. Hearing perfectly formed piano music by 18th century Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti alongside Sonatas and Interludes by 20th century American John…

Qatsi trilogy with Philip Glass live score highlight of Edinburgh International Festival

EIF 2011 screening of Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi

One of the earliest Edinburgh screenings of Koyaanisqatsi, the first of Godfrey Reggio’s remarkable trilogy of films scored by minimalist composer Philip Glass, was in an old porn cinema opposite what is now the Festival Theatre, then a bingo hall.

Bikini Machine compose a 'cinéconcert' score for Desperado

Each year, the French Institute for Scotland takes part in the Edinburgh International Film Festival and strives to bring the media of music and film together to form one piece of intercontinental art. This year, the Institute have invited five…

Domino Records host Edinburgh International Film Festival event

Event aims to showcase effective combination of music and film

A good advert can, sometimes, sell more than jeans, or alcohol, or cars. Think of the 1999 number one song, 'Flat Beat', which gained enormous popularity after a puppet called Flat Eric danced to it in a Levi’s advert. Levi’s shifted their jeans, the…

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 IN festival membership scheme

EIF and The List deal for half-price tickets, events and freebies

Edinburgh International Festival - in association with The List magazine - are offering members of an innovative and exclusive membership scheme a whole host of half-price tickets, event passes and freebies for the 2011 Festival season. Membership to…

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011 - sneak preview

Liberace, Finnish a capella groups and iPad fairy tales just some of the coming attractions

Whether it’s origami genitalia, homosexual deities or political commentary on the Lockerbie bombing, Edinburgh’s Fringe seldom arrives with a whimper but rather a ruddy great roar. June sees the official launch of 2011’s line-up, but we thought we…

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 programme keeps an eye on the East

National Ballet of China, Ravi Shankar, Philip Glass among highlights

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra raise the curtain of the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival in style this year with a performance Robert Schumann’s exotic musical Das Paradies und die Peri, one highlight from an EIF programme that boasts acts from…

Meredith Monk: Songs of Ascension

There is so much beauty here

It’s difficult to begin describing Songs of Ascension, a new(ish) work by composer, musician, artist and mercurial force of nature Meredith Monk, because it doesn’t fit cleanly into any of the nice, regular boxes we use to describe different kinds of…

Mitchell Museum and White Heath

Edge Festival, Electric Circus, 11 Aug 2010

There some confusion early on tonight as to whether the five young guys occupying the stage are completing their soundcheck before the main act or or are the support act. As it turns out, it's the latter, and the youthful audience are treated to the…

The Sing-along Glee Club

Hilariously silly, ridiculously twee and delightfully camp

Given the title of this show, one could be forgiven for assuming that its content would be that of the popular television show Glee which recently reached our screens from across the pond. On the contrary, ‘Sing-along Glee club’ provides an insight into…

Plan B

Rap and hip hop and deep heart-felt soul

There is no doubt that Plan B's Ben Drew is an accomplished rapper and singer, but it's not until you see him live that you can appreciate how immensely talented he is. Many artists work across several genres, but very few have successful attempted…

Barbershopera: Apocalypse No!

A superb show full of dazzling vocals

In a hilariously funny show - where Satan’s horsemen adopt a jaded primary school teacher as their leader to incite the end of the world - the ‘three guys and a girl’ of Barbershopera tell the tale of Beth, a teacher, who is looking for the venue of one…

Phoenix

HMV Picturehouse, Edinburgh, Sun 29 Aug

Despite a decade of history behind them, it’s 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix that has given French quartet Phoenix the ammunition to advance from special interest to mainstream concern. Now their delicate but euphoric pop – forging The Strokes…

Henry Rollins

Fast-paced spoken word from the punk-rock raconteur

Henry Rollins hates inactivity. His opening salvo – and this is surely the only term to use, as his stream-of-consciousness rants hit home like artillery-fire – concerns his need to exercise earlier in the day, despite it being his scheduled day off…

The 2010 Festival in Numbers

Here are some statistics about this year's Festivals

We've very carefully and scientifically gathered some stunning numbers and statistics about this year's festivals.

Helen Arney

Sweet songs with a tender heart

For Helen Arney, love is a many tentacled thing. Two centuries ago, there was ‘less choice, more farming accidents’ while now we’re never too sure whether the grass will turn out to be greener on the other side. For her own part, she seems to have a…

The Low Anthem, Mountain Man and Avi Buffalo set for Edinburgh date

Americana, borrowing from jazz, gospel and folk

With a relaxed, mellow sound steeped in the traditions of American folk and blues, the Low Anthem are a group of Ivy League music graduates from Providence, Rhode Island, currently touring Europe with their unique fusion of instruments, ranging from…

Opera Bohemia

Talented new company's Fringe debut

As the name may suggest, Opera Bohemia’s title was inspired by the aspiring artist characters in Puccini’s La Bohéme. Founded by two former RSAMD students, Alistair Digges and Douglas Nairne, this new opera company is a wealth of extraordinary fresh…

James Sherwood

Sporadically hilarious piano-led laughs

There are a number of truly inspired, laugh out loud moments in James Sherwood’s set. Unfortunately, that number is four, and it’s just not enough to sustain an audience for an hour. The songs produce titters rather than guffaws, and there’s an…

Italia ’n’ Caledonia

Unpretentious tales of the family history behind Valvona and Crolla

Two amiable old boys (Mike Maran and Philip Contini) sing and gag their way through the history of the families that formed Edinburgh culinary institution Valvona and Crolla. Along the way we hear of their struggling starts as entrepreneurial emigrants…

Barockestra: Rocking the Classics

Enthusiastic rock take on well-known classical pieces

Rock interpretations of well-known classical pieces from Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and the like featuring a full rock band, opera singer and ballerinas to give a foot-tapping tour of the greats. Overlaid with a cheesy humour that you could only…

Frances Ruffelle: Beneath the Dress

Cheeky, sexy and surprising cabaret-esque show

Given Ruffelle’s showbiz background – she’s the daughter of London theatre school founder Sylvia Young and a Tony Award-winning star of West End and Broadway musicals such as Les Misérables and Chicago – it’s unsurprising that her cabaret-esque Fringe…

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 13 Aug 2010

Whilst the fast-expanding crowd assemble for the arrival of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, we are treated to energetic three-piece The Xcerts, a melodramatic rock/pop outfit from Scotland. With the charismatic bassist being an irregular pitchfork, this band…

Feels Good To Be Live

Glee-ful young rock kids break out of Mumbai

This fresh-faced young seven-piece from Mumbai (who call themselves Something Relevant and have named their show after the title of their debut album) look and sound like they graduated from an Indian version of Glee. There’s an unmistakable air of…