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Rediscover Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, alongside new vocal works paying tribute to Canada’s Indigenous peoples and work by Gabriela Ortiz.In the second concert of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), Rafael Payare invites audiences to a conversation across time with a powerful programme of music culminating in Richard Strauss’s sumptuous tone poem Ein Heldenleben. With a stirring battle episode, ardent love music and playful quotations from the composer’s earlier works, it is a musical self-portrait both mischievous and deeply moving that takes full advantage of the possibilities of a large orchestra.This monumental staple of the late Romantic period is paired with carefully selected contemporary pieces. Indigenous Canadian sopranos Emma Pennell and Elisabeth St-Gelais join the orchestra for two powerful new vocal works confronting history, memory and the lived experience of Indigenous communities in Canada today.Alongside these, Gabriela Ortiz’s cello concerto Dzonot summons an evocation of the subterranean rivers, caves and stunning wildlife of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. Ortiz, also featured in the LA Phil’s programme, described it as a ‘form of protest’ responding to our neglect of these valuable ecosystems. It was written for cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein, who plays with ‘directness and insight… technical prowess and depth of feeling’ (The Guardian).Together, they encourage audiences to approach Strauss anew, inviting questions on voice, identity, and our relationship to the natural world.Supported by Léan Scully Endowed Fund with additional support from The Québec Government Office in London

The Scottish guitarist’s Festival debut explores Spanish and British music across five centuries. Sean Shibe’s recitals have become known for their startling originality: part concerts, part musical happenings. Described by The Guardian as a ‘truly compelling performer’, the multi-faceted Scottish guitarist frequently engages in a lively dialogue between past and present. This programme of Spanish and British music from across five centuries is no exception.The Renaissance is represented by the graceful fantasias and preludes of Alonso Mudarra, and the sweet melancholy of Shibe’s go-to composer, John Dowland. Joaquín Rodrigo ushers us gently into the 20th century with his exquisitely written Tres piezas españolas (Three Spanish Pieces).The contemporary composers in the programme take their lead from their forbears. Francisco Coll’s new work Sefarad draws on Sephardic folk music, while Thomas Adès’s restless Forgotten Dances suggests music heard long ago, not just rediscovered but reimagined.   Supported by Margaret Duffy and Peter Williamson 

Players from the Berliner Philharmoniker perform an elegant and intimate programme of 19th- and 20th-century chamber works.As part of their International Festival residency, players from the Berliner Philharmoniker perform a delightful programme of chamber works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Piano, strings, clarinet and horn join forces for a memorable close of The Queen’s Hall series. Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich added the rich sonorities of clarinet and horn to the traditional piano trio for his warmly lyrical Quintet in D, inspired by his love for librettist and critic Anežka Schulzová. Johannes Brahms’s soulful trio is one of his ‘autumnal’ late works, which masterfully intertwines the voices of clarinet, piano and cello.  Finally, Ernst von Dohnányi’s colourful sextet was composed for the unusual combination of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn. It was written in 1935 when the composer was bedridden with illness, circumstances which make its zest, energy and swagger seem even more astonishing. In Memory of Peter Diamand

Smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul and the genre-crossing Scottish Ensemble explore Celtic music and mythology.Brìghde Chaimbeul (pronounced Breech-huh Campbell) has set the world of Celtic music alight. She pairs mastery of the Scottish smallpipes with a creative, forward-looking approach to the Scottish Gaelic music tradition that has gained her a devoted international fanbase.  Chaimbeul joins forces with Scottish Ensemble, a group of string players renowned for their ambitious cross-genre collaborations. Stunning visuals are provided by filmmaker Jonny Ashworth, one of the creators of Brìghde’s haunting and memorable music videos.  Together, their performance blends new and traditional tunes, electronic sound and bewitching footage of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. It's an exploration of Celtic mythology and storytelling, music emerging from a deep, earthy soundscape of heavy drones. If you’re new to the distinctive sound of the smallpipes, there’s no better place to start.   Produced by Scottish Ensemble. Co-commissioned by Edinburgh International Festival and Eden Court, with support from PRS Foundation's Beyond Borders, the Leche Trust and the Cockaigne Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland. 

An exclusive event for our members. Join our Production Team on stage and take a peek behind the scenes of Clown Show.Go backstage and immerse yourself within the clown’s ‘beautiful big top’, where a crumbling America becomes the set for a chaotic, moving show. See how he builds a world of music, comedy and collapse, asking what remains of the American Dream. A Geoff Sobelle show is always full of surprises – be warned: this backstage tour reveals all! 

Start your weekend right, get to know your fellow members, and discuss Festivals past and present over drinks and nibbles at our Festival home.Whether you’re looking to grab a refreshment before an evening performance, or to wind down after a busy week, it’s a great way to meet likeminded people and arts lovers from Edinburgh and beyond. Kindly supported by Whitebox Cocktails. 

An exclusive event for our members. Enjoy a delicious three-course meal from our partners at the InterContinental.Our annual Members Lunch is a wonderful way to meet your fellow members and dine with the Festival Team. Share your favourite performances and gain an insight into the Festival – all over a delicious three-course lunch and a glass of wine.Join us at one of two lunches on Sunday 16 or Sunday 23 August. Ticket holders will be contacted two weeks before the lunch to confirm menu choices and dietary requirements. 

An exclusive event for our members. Join our Production Team on stage and take a peek behind the scenes of The Galloping Cure. Discover how the team brought the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli & Royce Vavrek’s The Galloping Cure to life. This bold new opera, commissioned by the Festival, transforms a devastating allegory of crisis into a powerful new stage work. Step onstage and see the set, costumes and props up close, and find out how the merry-go-round at the heart of the story – the Galloping Cure itself – was created. 

An exclusive event for our members. Join our Production Team on stage and take a peek behind the scenes of A Masked Ball.Join us to step inside the set of Zurich Opera House’s A Masked Ball, where love and betrayal unfold in a glittering world of power and danger. Go behind the scenes to see the lavish costumes up close, and discover how the production was transferred from Switzerland and remounted here in Edinburgh.

Celebrate the power of collaboration through joyful, community-led performances in Princes Street Gardens.We invite you to stroll through Princes Street Gardens in the heart of the city, and delight in pop-up performances throughout the afternoon.Experience vibrant music and dance from across Scotland and the US, in this collaborative event inspired by our 2026 Festival theme, All Rise.We gather together for the culmination – a heart-expanding, jaw dropping moment of collective expression inspired by the final, soulful movement of Wynton Marsalis’s All Rise.Full details to be announced, sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know.Join the Band — Perform on our StageJoin the Rise Community Band for your chance to perform at the iconic Princes Street Gardens for Together We Rise. If you are aged 18+ and can play without sheet music, there’s a place for you in our newly assembled Rise Community Band. Apply by 19 June.In collaboration with Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Scottish violinist Catriona Price and Argentinian musicians El Guapo present a genre-defying celebration of music making.Catriona Price sold out The Hub in 2023 with a concert of her acclaimed album Hert, a homage to her native Orkney. Now she returns to the Festival with her latest project, Routes to Roots – an organisation that she leads with Argentinian band El Guapo. They bring together artists from different cultures to create brand-new music, as well as their own arrangements of traditional tunes. Routes to Roots has already encompassed a performance at Celtic Connections 2025 and a five-day festival in Oaxaca City, Mexico. Now the team is joined by Scottish folk musician Kris Drever, Argentinian duo Lohdóh, Nigerian-born saxophonist Camilla George and members of Senegalese dance band Orchestra Baobab, for an evening celebrating friendship and the boundless possibilities of making music together.Discover a selection of brand-new pieces and arrangements, blending folk traditions, personal stories and wide-ranging musical influences. You can also experience the visionary talent of Camilla George in her concert at The Hub.Supported by Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Roll up, roll up for theatre-maker Geoff Sobelle’s contemporary portrait of America as a falling-apart circus.Geoff Sobelle and his troupe of clowns have set up their 'beautiful big top' in the wreckage of America. The acrobats and the jugglers have long since left, leaving the clowns to run the show. Sobelle returns to the International Festival following his immersive, surprising productions, FOOD (2023) and HOME (2018).  Part-clown, part-magician, Sobelle creates hilarious and poignant work, whose impact can be ‘as disturbing as it is beautiful’ (The Scotsman). This time, Sobelle is joined by an army of clowns holding it together as best they can, performing the original score on questionable instruments.  Together, they invite you into a crumbling empire to witness the greatest show on earth before it disappears completely. It may be the USA’s 250th birthday this year, but Sobelle asks if the American Dream is better described as a deal with the devil. Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady BrownMostly non-verbal, with some spoken and sung English