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| The audience at Crail Church at the East Neuk Festival, 2024 (Photo: Neil Hanna) |
The 20th East Neuk Festival will fill some of East Fife’s most stunning seaside locations with line-up of classical, jazz, folk, and experimental music from 25 to 29 June 2025.The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which has played at every festival since it began, returns to open this year’s festival, conducted by Andrew Manze in a programme including Schubert’s Symphony No 6 in C major and Rodrigo’s Concierto d’Aranjuez with guitarist Sean Shibe.
Sean Shibe will also give three solo concerts in Anstruther, spanning five centuries in the evolution of the guitar from lute to electric guitar. Scottish and French lute music collected in manuscripts from over five centuries ago; music by Bach and Thomas Ades on acoustic guitar; and his own joyous rendition of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint on electric. Still with chordophones, celebrated Oud player Nizar Rohana gives a rare solo performance on this ancient mesmerising instrument that is the ancestor of all European guitar-like instruments.
All five of Beethoven’s late string quartets are spread across the festival, performed by Elias Quartet, The Pavel Haas Quartet, Castalian Quartet and the Belcea Quartet, along with music by Mozart, Schubert, Ades and Beamish. Over 20 years ago, Beethoven’s Septet was performed in Elie Church at a taster event that led to the creation of the festival, and the Septet returns this year with some of the original players plus principals of the SCO, Berlin Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, and the Nash Ensemble.
Schubert at the festival this year features his three song cycles performed by tenor Mark Padmore and baritone James Newby, and pianist Joseph Middleton.
To close this 20th festival, all four quartets join forces to form a ‘mega-star’ chamber orchestra and play Sibelius’s Andante Festivo alongside the world premiere of Field of Stars by Sally Beamish commissioned specifically for these 16 players and inspired partly by the many nations from which they come.
Full details from the festival website.
