Edinburgh Festival listings

Scotland's funniest follow in the footsteps of previous winners Sarah Millican, Jimmy Carr and Kevin Bridges, and pack their best jokes into a 10-minutes sketch to see who will be crowned king or queen of comedy.

Two titans of the piano repertoire are performed by the formidable Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger, whose combination of luxuriant richness and steely control in his impeccable playing have earnt him worldwide acclaim. Although his earlier works had been conceived for the wooden fortepiano, Beethoven needed the modern…

Widely celebrated as one of the world’s preeminent contemporary music ensembles, the Arditti Quartet is famed for its spellbinding performances that combine authority and passion. Yet its players are also respected for their perceptive readings of classic repertoire, including Janáček’s First String Quartet, whose…

String quartets by Beethoven, Janáček and Shostakovich performed by Evelien Jaspers and Dmitry Ivanov (violin), Sylvain Dessane (viola) and Otto Bakker (cello).

Professor of Epistemics Jon Oberlander, Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Composition Peter Nelson, and Chris Speed of the Edinburgh College of Art discuss historical, conceptual and philosophical relationships between the performing arts and technology. Chaired by theatre specialist Olga Taxidou.

Leonardo is celebrated as both an inspired artist and anatomist. This special event considers how contemporary artists, performers and scientists are informed by each other’s work in their exploration of the human body. Part of the Clod Ensemble’s Performing Medicine programme in collaboration with Wellcome Trust.

Ângela Ferreira discusses her exhibition Political Cameras with curator Filipa Oliveria.

Leonardo’s early anatomical studies were intended to help his work as a painter, but his researches took on a life of their own, becoming the most important strand of his scientific work. Exhibition curator Martin Clayton examines the relationship between these two major aspects of Leonardo’s activity.

Arkle Theatre Company play out the twists and turns of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy.

Not Sir Alex Ferguson (no, we didn't know he was called that either), but our favourite mysterious cult 1980s Canadian stand-up who wears a Mexican wrestling mask instead.

Continuing the carnival atmosphere – the twelve Italian brass, reeds and drums play party music from wild Balkan dances to traditional Mediterranean marches and Latino jazz. Uplifting.

From the boom of the 50’s and 60s to today, the undisputed kings of traditional jazz in Britain have been Ball, Barber and Bilk - the "Three Bs". Kenny Ball passed away earlier this year, but his son has stepped in to lead the band, and enabled us to present the classic three band concert one more time. Each band plays…

Trombonist and singer, Dave Batchelor, runs one of the most entertaining traditional jazz bands in Scotland. Classic dixieland jazz played with real verve and rhythmic punch by some of Scotland's finest jazz musicians: Colin Steele (trumpet), Hamish McGregor (saxes/clarinet). Fraser Spiers (harmonica), Alastair MacDonald…

The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra performs one of the grandest and most moving pieces in the entire orchestral repertoire: Mahler’s Second Symphony. Tracing a journey from funereal despair to the blazing light of rebirth, the Symphony combines moments of hair-raising terror with passages of poignant intimacy. The…

The internationally renowned Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra makes a two-concert visit to the Festival under chief conductor Mariss Jansons, acclaimed for his blistering performances and for his cultured interpretations that shine fresh light on major classical works. Tchaikovsky’s 'Pathétique' Symphony is one of the…

Derval Tubridy, Goldsmiths, University of London, explores the vibrant interplay between Samuel Beckett’s work and contemporary art with a particular focus on bodies and technology. Chaired by Octavian Saiu.

Producer of the Beckett on Film project, Michael Colgan discusses the challenges in creating this extraordinary film collection.

Celebrated Belgian early-music conductor René Jacobs rejects the academic coolness of some period performance in favour of bright colours, dramatic energy and a sometimes unconventional approach. While remaining faithful to his music’s historical roots, Jacobs emphasises emotion and meaning, finding fresh perspectives on…

Minimalist composer Philip Glass’s magical reimagining of Jean Cocteau’s 1946 La Belle et la Bête combines the classic black and white film with live performance in a Šsophisticated work that is at once a touching fairy tale and a meditation on creativity. Removing the film’s original dialogue track and score by Georges…

String quartets by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Dvorák performed by Clemens Flieder and Clemens Gordon (violin), Johanna Zaunschirn (viola) and Gundula Leitner (cello).