‘There’s a quiet class about the whole thing that generates a special kind of listening: for all the dark arts of conjuring festival ambience, Lammermuir tends to simply programme right and let the music do the talking’
'Miniature miracles are what East Lothian’s Lammermuir Festival specialises in . . . concerts featuring top rank artists in implausible venues, so that every September the union of great music and beautiful locations creates a peculiarly special atmosphere in their events.' Bachtrak
Our 15th festival was a landmark worth celebrating and, thanks to the tremendous support provided by our many donors and funders, we were thrilled to be able to mark it in the way we know best – by inviting some of the world’s finest musicians to perform great music in our beautiful, historic county.
We were honoured that the incomparable Véronique Gens agreed to sing for us, and we were delighted by Britten’s delightful ‘Albert Herring’ in a concert staging by Scottish Opera. We were thrilled to welcome Concerto Copenhagen, one of the finest baroque orchestras in the world, as Ensemble in Residence. The brilliant young Van Baerle Trio from Holland played all of Beethoven’s piano trios through our weekday morning Coffee Concerts. The brand new Valo String Quartet were partnered with the extraordinary Jeremy Denk who also contributed two more typically striking programmes, including an amazing Charles Ives event with violinist Maria Wloszczowska and a band!
Our devotion to JS Bach was undimmed, with Fretwork playing The Art of Fugue and Roman Rabinovich the ‘Goldberg Variations’. Our friends the Maxwell Quartet returned, along with Dunedin Consort, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Gesualdo Six, Tenebrae, Hebrides Ensemble, and many others. It was quite a party!
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Hugh Macdonald & James Waters
Artistic Directors
‘There’s a quiet class about the whole thing that generates a special kind of listening: for all the dark arts of conjuring festival ambience, Lammermuir tends to simply programme right and let the music do the talking’
‘It is part of the festival’s appeal that it takes audiences to locations that are beautiful in and of themselves, and it exposes them to great music that seems to fit each place like a glove.’
Lammermuir Festival . . . A communal warmth, friendship and exceptional quality of music-making
Lammermuir is all about place, about local identity, about the highest quality on an intimate scale.
Festivals like these, outside of suburbia, have a very special place in music-lovers hearts, and act as beacons of pride for their communities. To be able to hear world-class musicians in such beautiful settings as East Lothian provides is a wonderful thing.
‘Locations and music in perfect harmony’