East Neuk Festival

Crail, Fife

When I lived in Scotland in the late 1970's the East Neuk of Fife was a rather grim sequence of (former) fishing villages. All that has changed and now the East Neuk Festival will be 10 this year. Centred on the village of Crail, the festival runs from 27 June to 6 July 2014. The final weekend will be a Schubertiade led by Christian Zacharias in his sixth festival residency, with Llyr Williams, the Belcea Quartet, the Gould Piano Trio, Malin Christensson and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 

The Belcea and Elias Quartets join forces for Brahms and Strauss, whilst members of the Belcea Quartet feature throughout the Schubertiade weekend. There are also concerts from the Elias String Quartet and Quatuor Ebene. The pianist Kyristian Bezuidenhout will be making his festival debut with Ensemble Marsyas playing Mozart and Beethoven on period instruments.  James MacMillan's Piano Trio No. 2 (a festival co-commission) will receive its Scottish premiere performed by the Gould Piano Trio.

Clemens Schuldt will conduct a landscape themed concert with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with music by MacMillan, Luther Adams, Britten and Sibelius. Tenor Allan Clayton will be performing a Britten programme.

Classical music forms only part of the festival, there is also a jazz programme, family events, and an exhibition of work of the Scottish Colourists. plus there is also Littoral, a writing and ideas festival.

Further information from the East Neuk Festival website.