All Events between Fri 14 Aug and Sun 6 Sep

In Juan Cruz's Mensch he evolves a number of interconnected narratives that circulate around the old city of Edinburgh.

Greg Creek's drawings of Edinburgh, city of Enlightenment, encourage a visual journey that maps both place and time, with references to historical, contemporary and fictional events, people and subjects.

In Hark!, singers relate the news of the day, recalling the way information was delivered to people prior to the Enlightenment and mass literacy. 

Letter Writing Project invites viewers to think about communicating with absent friends, family and loved ones by writing the letters they always meant to, but have never had the opportunity or time to do so.

Coley questions belief systems and investigates architectural structures inhabited by and invested with faith.

Digital film of animated clay figures presents a fictional encounter philosophical and theological thinkers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Blaise Pascal.

A concert of rarely performed songs by Haydn performed by the exquisite voices of Collegium Vocale Gent accompanied by rising star Kristian Bezuidenhout.

Alexander Broadie, Sir Timothy Clifford, Juliana Engberg and Duncan Macmillan discuss Visual Art and the Enlightenment.

Curator Juliana Engberg in conversation with artists Gabrielle de Vietri, Nathan Coley and Greg Creek, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

Faith Healer influenced a generation of Irish writing for the theatre and creates a mosaic of narratives that is both seductive and terrifying.

Diaspora is a sweeping, panoramic performance exploring memory, migration, assimilation and the triumph of the human spirit.

Traditional Gaelic song, contemporary music, vintage and modern film, actors, singers and acrobats tell the story of the 'Birdmen' of St Kilda.

An evening with one of the world's best loved singers Sir Willard White, including songsby Ives, Britten, Quilter, well known spirituals and Copland's Old American Songs.

Acclaimed British artist Tacita Dean emphasizes the aspects of quiet devotion, internal contemplation and external dedication that defines this small ecclesiastical community.

Tom Devine, Arthur L Herman and Ong Keng Sen discuss the theme Scotland Exports the Enlightenment.

The work of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and James MacMillan together in a celebration of their home nation, Scotland.  

Scotland's own internationally acclaimed soprano Lisa Milne sings songs inspired by Scotland with Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Francis George Scott.

The creative team of Optimism discuss the process undertaken to create a 21st century take on Voltaire's Candide, as part of our Behind the Scenes and Conversations series.

Ong Keng Sen, director, discusses his production Diaspora, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

Philippe Herreweghe founded the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées to recreate the brilliance of Romantic music on original instruments. 

Susan Norrie's new project SHOT explores aspects of outer space and our quest for enlightenment - a quest necessary not just for the sake of knowledge, but possibly for survival.

Theatre company Belt Up presents an intimate workshop placing the audience at the centre of the performance as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

Silviu Purcarete's wild adaptation of this iconic tale is a large scale work with industrial music, remarkable staging and a huge cast. Macabre theatre on a grand scale.

The energy in the music and the inspired orchestration make Mendelssohn's final oratorio one of classical music's most popular works.

Accompanist Malcolm Martineau holds a public masterclass with four young singers and their accompanists, as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

Theatre company Belt Up presents an intimate workshop placing the audience at the centre of the performance as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

One of Bartók's most scintillating scores coupled with Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto, dedicated to the pianist Yefim Bronfman, the soloist in this performance.

A concert of chorales by Bach and his inspirational predecessor Michael Praetorius.

Le Concert des Nations are experts in performing both the familiar music of Handel and the less-known compositions of Marais.

Ballads, psalms and songs from the days of Columba to the present, rub shoulders with medieval and renaissance dance tunes and an 18th century bagpipe.

Onora O'Neill, John V Pickstone and Martin Rees discuss Science and Tolerance, as part of our Enlightenment Discussions and Talks series at The Hub.

Silviu Purcarete, director, discusses his production of Faust, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

Dunedin Consort performs Bach's Dialogue Cantatas along with two of Bach's chorale preludes for organ.

Gelabert's brings a joyful premiere to Festival 09.

Christian Spuck's exhilarating production is filled with humour, wit and the down right weird.

Chopin played one of his last ever concerts in a house on Queen Street in Edinburgh in 1848. Here virtuoso pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja recreates that special occasion.

Cesc Gelabert and Lydia Azzopardi talk about their work as creators of dance theatre, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

The Orchestra is famous for its fresh sound, with musicians playing on period instruments and pouring their passion into the music, led by Sir Roger Norrington.  

Concerto Caledonia's dance band steps back in time for a colourful evening of Scottish dance music.

The Last Witch is based on the historical account of the last woman to be executed for witchcraft in Scotland.

Opera singers, musicians, half life-sized puppets and animated film are used to retell the Greek myth of Ulysses.

Bryn Terfel and accompanist Malcolm Martineau perform a heart-warming selection of favourite songs including traditional songs from the British Isles.

Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler and performers from Handspring Puppet Company's production of Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria reveal some of the secrets of bringing life to the art of puppetry as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

William Kentridge, artist, discusses his work including his collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

The story of thwarted love in a time of war, religious strife and witchcraft contributed to the instant success of Handel's Rinaldo.

In the 18th century many musicians left Scotland to further their musical ambitions. They took European art styles and adapted them, weaving together elements of Scots song with the new-fangled baroque...

Christoph Prégardien joins fortepianist Andreas Staier to perform a concert of songs by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann and a selection of rarely performed gems by Norbert Burgmüller.

Julian Goodare, Ruth Little, Rona Munro and Adrienne Scullion discuss On the Dark Side: Witchcraft and the Theatre, as part of our Enlightenment Discussions and Talks series.

Famed for its performance of Bach's works Masaaki Suzuki's Bach Collegium Japan is joined here by three outstanding singers in a concert of solo cantatas.

This extraordinary youth orchestra performs with period instruments and for this concert has tripled its usual size, boasting 60 players.

James MacMillan's cantata for choir and strings has become one of the composer's most loved works, for which the Ensemble is joined by chamber choir Tenebrae.

Swedish soprano Maria Keohane performs Handel's solo cantata Silete Venti and Bach's life-affirming wedding cantata Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten.

Symphony No 70 is one of Haydn's most flamboyant pieces. In contrast, in his Seven last words of our saviour on the cross, all seven movements are slow and dark.

Burns's song Scots Wha Hae appears here in Pietro Urbani's musical depiction of the Battle of Bannockburn, as part of a feast of curiosities from Enlightenment Edinburgh.

Virtuoso fortepianist Andreas Staier gives a lecture and demonstration on the music of Muzio Clementi, as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

Some of Bach's earliest cantatas with an outstanding line-up of singers. Directed from the viol by Philippe Pierlot, the concerts feature soprano soloist Katharine Fuge.

Brahms' Variations on a theme by Haydn is a bold and diverse work with a phenomenal triumphant finale. Berio's love of folk music is clear.

The second of two concerts by the Ricercar Consort exploring some of Bach's earliest cantatas.

Göttingen International Handel Festival re-imagine Admeto's classical Greek world as the world of the Japanese samurai.

Roméo et Juliette is one of Berlioz's greatest & most original works. Often reduced to orchestral excerpts this concert offers a rare opportunity to hear the full work.

Testament of Cresseid completes the story left unfinished in Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. The world premiere of this epic work is commissioned by the Festival.

Pogorelich brings his own distinct interpretations to well-known piano works such as Chopin's Nocturne and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz.

Friel's expressive interpretation turns one of the best short stories ever written into a provocative piece of modern theatre.

Anne Bogart, Lee Breuer, Roger L Emerson and Paul Goring discuss The Face of the Enlightenment as part of our Discussions and Talks series.

Doris Dörrie, author, filmmaker and director of the opera Admeto in conversation, as part of our Comversations of Artists series.

Acis and Galatea remains one of his most popular and enduring operas, with passion filled arias such as I rage, I melt, I burn.

Learn some rhythm from the master of movement. Dance specialist Charles McNeal presents a physical movement workshop suitable for everyone, as part of our Behind the Scenes series.

Moral Universals and Moral Progress: the New Science of Good and Evil, as part of our Enlightenment Discussions and Talks series at The Hub.

Michael Clark wonderful company of dancers come to Edinburgh for an evening of exhilarating modern dance.

An extraordinary chance encounter between two of Chekhov's lost souls. As we follow their sometimes stilted conversation, we slowly discover the fate of both their families.

The concert includes Beethoven's towering achievement Grosse Fuge, Webern's delightful Bagatelles opus 9 and Schoenberg's String Quartet No 2, the quartet being joined by soprano Barbara Hannigan.

Stewart Sutherland and Paul Wood discuss The Enlightenment and the Academies, as part of our Discussions and Talks series at The Hub.

Illuminating concert juxtaposing two cantatas by Buxtehude with early works Bach.

Wagner's rousing re-telling of Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Mezzo soprano Bernarda Fink and pianist Anthony Spiri perform Dvorák's Biblical Songs and Gypsy Songs alongside a selection of songs by Schubert.

Ashley Page, Artistic Director, and Ian Spink, choreographer, in conversation, as part of our Conversations with Artists series.

Matthew Halls directs from the keyboard in a concert featuring Carolyn Sampson.

Peter Pan is reimagined by Mabou Mines in this exuberant adaptation. A bittersweet imagining of childhood by visual artists, puppeteers and musicians.

Conducted by Ingo Metzmacher and with Christian Tetzlaff on violin, the music of JS Bach is central to this diverse repertoire pieces from Webern, Berg and Brahms.

Perenial Festival favourite Christian Zacharias is completely at home showing the full range of his virtuosity in this programme of works by Haydn, Brahams and Scarlatti.

James Buchan and Andrew S Skinner discuss Political Economy: Adam Smith and Others, as part of our Enlightenment Discussions and Talks series at The Hub.

Harry Christophers leads his renowned choir and period ensemble in a concert of cantatas written by Bach during his Leipzig years.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner, his Choir and orchestra offer a fresh and inspiring interpretation of Bach's cantatas which has won them acclaim around the world.

The multi-Grammy award-winning Emerson Quartet presents the transparent beauty of Beethoven's Harp quartet, along with Mendelssohn's earliest and last works in this genre.

Bach's music offers a promise of redemption while the cast build an intricate and detailed picture of day to day life.

Scottish Ballet presents three works for the 2009 Festival.

Purcell's version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream offers an extraordinary variety of music.

Composer Giorgio Battistelli discusses the integration and transformation of sounds associated with traditional working environments into music.

Huge forces gather to perform Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius. His masterpiece is quintessentially British from the spine tingling opening to the symphonic climax.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus lead a rousing night of Handel's most famous works. Pyrovision choreograph a stunning fireworks display with the music.