Scottish Festivals ...

Scottish Festivals ...

Seek to engage, challenge, entertain and to ensure quality of standard, musicianship, writing, diversity, colour and more.

*East Neuk classical music festival 10th Edition – 27^th June – 6^th July   

Situated in intimate venues on the coastal villages of Fife, with German pianist Christian Zacharias and with trios, sopranos and chamber groups. This year will celebrate the 19th century Viennese composer Franz Schubert.  http://www.eastneukfestival.com/

 

*Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival – 18^th – 27^th July

This year with Van Morrison and Jool Holland, as well as renowned jazz artists from across the world.  Edinburgh Jazz Festival was set up in 1978 by banjo-player and guitarist, Mike Hart. Mike's initial focus was on traditional jazz and a host of events taking place for free admission in pubs. There is a Princes Street parade, The Mardi Gras in the Grassmarket and Jazz On A Summers Day in Princes Street Gardens which are free events. Regular visitors are Buddy Tate, Warren Vache, The Black Eagles Jazz Band and the Hot Antic Jazz Band. The Festival's artistic policy has been to concentrate on musical excellence (rather than the "star system") and to champion spontaneous creativity: music making on the spot in Edinburgh. These have been developed with the production of a wide range of new music, the establishment of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra, and an on-going commitment to supporting Scottish musicians to realise creative ideas, and to link with international musicians.  http://www.edinburghjazzfestival.com/

*Edinburgh International Festival- August 2014

The Big One! The oldest arts festival.

Edinburgh buzzes for the month of August when some locals leave and others enjoy watching for the good reviews and for the next big shows.

For the visitor it is worth walking around (faster often than by bus) from the Under Belly beside George Square and the university, down past to the Royal mile where there are many shows on display (very busy at the weekends) – then down the mound worth it for the spectacular vista from Edinburgh’s castle and gardens and on past the Art galleries (where there are often packed crowds for the fire eating street performers and jugglers). Take a left turn down Princes Street and into parallel George Street and before long you see the white tents of Edinburgh’s book festival where many world famous authors descend for the two middle weeks and by contrast offers a place for reflection and more considered entertainment. .

Flyers, colour and spectacle are everywhere on the streets in a vast celebration. As the festival offers every type of arts, I find it interesting to see the crossovers between the arts. To find music such as Nile Rogers who gave a highly interesting and spontaneous talk at the book festival, with dance exploring new mediums and expression through mime, visuals and illusion such as the show Leo.

Edinburgh Fringe. 1 – 25 August. There is everything to sample here with over around 3,000 shows.

The Fringe developed from the main festival, particularly expanding into comedy, such as Cambridge footlights where many well known comedians first got their big break. Nearly any available space is used over the city.  https://www.edfringe.com/

Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) 9 – 25 August. The world’s largest book festival began in 1983 and is held at Charlotte Square, Edinburgh’s westend, with children’s events and a wide diversity of novelists, journalists, economists, scientists, poets, musicians, historians, and politicians. The festival includes debates and evening Unbound shows.  https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/

Edinburgh International Art Festival, 31 July – 31 August. http://edinburghartfestival.com/

Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) 8 – 21 August.  The main event and the world’s oldest festival. It focuses on the high brow and world class theatre, opera, dance and music. The festival is all embracing. 
http://www.eif.co.uk/ 

PHOTOS Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) 2013

Ruby Wax signing

Some photos Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) 2013 - Jack Straw being interviewed, Ruby Wax signing, Paper bird sculptures, Kate Mosse, Kamila Shamsie, Lisa Appignanesi signing for their book Fifty Shades of Feminism.

Kate Mosse, Kamila Shamsie, Lisa Appignanesi

William McIIvanney and Alex Salmond

Jack Straw

Ruby Wax, book Sane New World

Jake Wallace Simons

Jake Wallace Simons journalist and writer of crime fiction, discussed his book The Pure at The Edinburgh International Book Festival.  Copyrighted
I loved the old-fashioned black and white feel of these images - I guess that's my style really!

Christopher Brookmyre and Billy Franks Edinburgh

Christopher Brookmyre, respected Scottish crime writer, performed an evening show at the Edinburgh Book festival evening Unbound in the speigel tent, along with long time friend Londoner Billy Franks. Brookmyre is one of Billy's biggest fans. 

Billy asked me to watch the filming of them which he had set up on a table. He was clearly excited about the gig and good kudos for him.  I first met Billy Franks when he played some lovely fun singing sessions at the Troubadour London.  Brookmyre told some stories and he also sang and strangely Billy's first song was about corporate 'Reality Tv' - which he sang has the personality of a bully! and was entitled 'TV Brutal'. 

This proved a highly entertaining gig!  http://billyfranks.com/

Edinburgh International Book Festival

*Edinburgh International Book Festival 2011

Pauline Black

Romola Garai

Ben Okri

John Byrne

http://www.zenfolio.com/pkimage/edinburghbookfestival 

*Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF)

Neil Gaiman

Lazlo Krasznahorkai

Simon Callow

Joan Bakewell

John Vailliant

John Byrne

Michael Ondaatje

This blog is mostly about music, but it is also about how music and words/lyrics/poetry and art work together.  While I enjoy Mozart, the music I enjoy most is also about the music and power of words.   
Edinburgh Festival is quite unique as it celebrates all forms of creativity in a major way - from the silent performance movement of the award winning fringe show LEO, the music of the Edge and the main International Festival, it's Arts festivals and theatre and drama all abound here. 2,500 shows at 250 venues over 3 to 4 weeks, over one million visitors.  

Some of the authors at EIBF were also musicians and artists.  For example Norwegian author Jo Nesbo who is known internationally for his crime novels and who also writes songs for the band Di Derre.  Also Nobel prize winner for Literature from China Goa Xingjian.
He is a writer, poet, playwright and painter. Gao describes himself as a 'total artist' creating novels, short stories, essays, plays, paintings and film. His 'Ballad Nocturne' continues his ongoing experimentation with dissolving and redefining artistic boundaries, and with melding aesthetic forms. After speaking out against the cultural revolution he now lives in exile in France, in his Second Life.  As happened in Russia, the 'free thinkers' and the creative people have had to flee China. 

Revolutionary change and times was the main theme for the EIBF this year. Change is not simply a good but also a necessary thing. Which begs the question - why have recent years seen such an upsurge in revolutionary thinking. Is it Twitter and Facebook!?  Those who are saying 'NO' - this isn't working and we want a better way.  

The Debates (the Spoken Word). This year the EIBF started doing Debates each evening and I went to the one on 'Scottish Independence'  The speakers were Ming Campbell, Mike Russell SNP, and articulate historian Neal Ascherson.  The main issue became around one of a hope for Forward Optimism.(refer to another Blog later for this debate). Fun comes in many guises and I had a fun time at the Debate as I reflected on the power of words.  And on how words and music together have the most powerful effective over our memories and emotions.  

My best images often come when the shoot has a buzz about it and where the author is either up for having portraits taken or has outstanding depth of character.   

Karin Altenberg

Candia McWilliam

A good portrait is about the character of the sitter and their stories.  This year I took photos of Irish writer Edna O'Brien, eccentric character and artist John Byrne, Chinese writer and artist Gao Xingjian, presenter Joan Bakewell, 'Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, footballer John Hartson, playwright and artist John Byrne, Scottish national poet Liz Lochhead, actor Simon Callow, writer Neil Gaiman, journalist John Valliant, The English Patient author Michael Ondaatje, comedy writer Rowland Rivron, feminist Badisha, writer Karin Altenberg, as well a Philosophers, politicians and other creative thinkers. MORE AUTHORS images on my Photographic Blog - http://musicfootnote.blogspot.com/  and website -   http://pkimage.co.uk/