Listings: Music

German singer Andreas Scholl is one of classical music’s superstars, and has introduced countless listeners to the irresistible beauty of his countertenor voice. His acclaimed performances match exquisite grace in his singing with a charismatic stage presence, packed full of passion and an arresting freedom of expression.

Composer Tod Machover, conductor Peter Oundjian and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra take us through the creation of a new piece of music celebrating the City of Edinburgh and its Festival and co-created by members of the public.

A concert of warmth and lyricism that draws on the refined playing for which the Scottish Chamber Orchestra is renowned. Principal conductor Robin Ticciati is joined by the remarkable National Youth Choir of Scotland and two exceptional solo vocal talents. Sir Thomas Allen is one of Britain’s best-loved singers…

Music since recording is a new art form, which bears only as much resemblance to traditional, performed music as cinema does to theatre. What are the special characteristics of this new art? How did it evolve? Where might it be going? Brian Eno shares his thoughts.

Bach to Berio, Lutoslawski to Puttin’ on the Ritz performed by Iain Archibald and Andrew Connell-Smith (trumpet), Martin Murphy (horn), Gordon Seith (trombone) and Fraser Russell (tuba).

Join the city of Edinburgh in a celebration of summer festivals, inspirational music and breathtaking pyrotechnics as the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert brings the Edinburgh International Festival to a resplendent conclusion. Set against the magnificent backdrop of Edinburgh’s iconic Castle, the evening brings together…

Lady banjo players extraordinaire tour their bluegrass ballads.

Sue McKenzie has been around the jazz and contemporary music scene in Scotland for some time, but never as a band leader until now. She’s the lady with the gloriously pure, rich saxophone sound – in Salsa Celtica and the Scottish Saxophone Quartet. Now she’s put together a band with a very special sound of its own…

A consummate jazz singer swing, charm, crystal clear diction and effervescent good humour.

Ghosts of the past and present collide through video and sound technology in this evening-long project from the internationally renowned Brooklyn-based Bang on a Can All-Stars, an electric chamber ensemble that brings together some of the world’s most adventurous musical thinkers. The Field Recordings project looks back…

World-renowned harpsichord virtuoso Christophe Rousset explores the remarkable richness of Baroque harpsichord music in two special concerts that showcase the magnificent instruments preserved in Edinburgh’s own St Cecilia’s Hall Museum. Selecting outstanding instruments from the splendours of the museum’s collection…

Tron Kirk, 10.30-4pm, £10 (or individually priced slots); 10.30-11.30am Sandy Tweeddale solo Top blues guitarist/vocalist (£2); noon-1pm Sue McHugh & Campbell Normand Sultry vocal jazz (£4); 1.30-2.30pm SZK Sizhukong Beautiful fusion of jazz, with Chinese instruments; 3-4pm The California Honeydrops Infectious…

A poet of the piano, Mitsuko Uchida is famed for playing that matches elegance and poise with mercurial excitement. Her Festival recital combines gentle lyricism and explosive virtuosity. To begin, she contrasts two luminous Preludes and Fugues from the second book of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier with Schoenberg’s…

Muddy Waters’ eldest son has got a new band together and taken the blues world by storm. Amazingly, he sounds just like his father, and the band play his classic hits: “Hoochie Coochie Man”, “I’m Ready”, “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son”… This is the classic Chicago electric blues that Muddy is generally held to have…

Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, He made his name with expressionistic, free jazz in John Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s, and then on a series of modal/free classic albums under his own name, he’s gone on to embrace…

Two of the pillars of contemporary music come together for an intimate evening of poetry, music and song in tribute to their friend, the great Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg. Punk poet and provocateur Patti Smith performs both her own and Ginsberg’s poetry, with accompaniment and solo pieces for piano from founding…

Dancey, jazzy grooves and Afro-beats from Senegal.

Festival debut for super-charged American saxophone star with her big swinging, bop–based, all female band. A young lion on the New York jazz scene, a long time member of Beyoncé’s band, and now musical director with Esperanza Spalding. Fuller’s band play some of the most exciting music on the current US scene, packed…

Tron Kirk, 10.30-4pm, £10 (or individually priced slots); 10.30-11.30am Al Hughes solo Gritty Delta blues and eerily atmospheric acoustic slide guitar (£2); noon-1pm SZK Sizhukong Beautiful fusion of jazz and Chinese music (£4); 1.30-2.30pm Paolo Alderighi solo Ebullient swinging stride piano from Italian maestro (£4)…

An evening of thrilling 20th century classics from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under its chief guest conductor, Ilan Volkov, who is widely renowned for the passion and intensity of his music making. Sinfonia by Luciano Berio is a virtuoso work full of colour and humour that poses profound questions about what a…

All female young Australian quintet play straight ahead swinging modern jazz.

Emerging fiddle maestro.

Seductress, victim, manipulator: Lulu lives off men as both tortured and torturer, purveyor of ecstasy and angel of death. Caught up in greedy games and seedy schemes, and surrounded by lovers driven to despair, Lulu makes an inexorable rise to the highest levels of power, money and fame. But her descent is just as swift.