The Edinburgh Festival, or should I say Festivals, have come to an end for another year. Several Festivals have been running concurrently – the International Festival, the Fringe, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and others (TV, art, the Tattoo).
The city has felt fuller than ever – unsustainably full, sometimes. I gave up thinking of walking down the Royal Mile, which seemed to be thronged with visitors all day long. Instead, I tried to get out for walks in the hills – see photo of Arthur’s Seat seen from the Braid Hills.
We have enjoyed events at the Fringe, the Book Festival and the International Festival. Standouts for me: Wynton Marsalis’s All Rise at the Usher Hall (we were lucky to be invited to attend the dress rehearsal). The Jazz Orchestra of Lincoln Centre at the Usher Hall. Mozart’s Don Giovanni in a splendid concert performance. Spending three hours in the company of Mozart at his finest was a treat.
At the Book Festival: Lady Brenda Hale talking about her life as a judge. Three top translators – Polly Barton, Anton Hur and Daniel Hahn – talking about their work. Comedian Tim Key reading his poems. Novelists Meg Mason and Ann Patchett talking wittily about the friendship they developed through sending each other voice notes. Ben Lerner bending our minds further as he spoke about his novel Transcription. Anthony Seldon talking about Brexit. And my favourite: Philippe Sands on the importance of international law. This seemingly dry topic turned out to be quite moving.
At the Fringe: guitarist Daniel Martinez and his ‘Flamenco Fringe’ colleagues at the Yotel in George Street. What fine musicians they all are.
And I mustn’t forget my own solo concert in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral during the Fringe. It was lovely to speak afterwards to some foreign visitors who’d stumbled upon the concert.
One of my neighbours happened to say that it’s always during the Festival that she notices the approach of autumn. It was certainly true this year. Suddenly there was a cool edge to the wind. Arthur’s Seat was often covered in mist in the morning. A heavy downpour on the last day of the Festival seemed to confirm the changing of the season. Still, I have stored up plenty of great cultural memories.
It sounds like you had a wonderful time despite the crowds. I watched the Tattoo last night – always good to hear some fine piping, but it’s a shame much of it is a bit of a dog’s breakfast. As with Eurovision, the chance to get a huge audience for some really good music is squandered. But then again you can’t argue with success…
I wish the translators’ panel at the Book Festival had been available as a livestream, as that’s the only way I (in New York) would have been able to see it. I’m enjoying Daniel Hahn’s book, If This Be Magic, about translating Shakespeare into languages other than English. Was that discussed?
The availability of livestreams of some of the Book Festival events is one of the few good things to have come out of the pandemic. This year I managed to watch talks by Colm Tóibín, Douglas Stuart, and Maggie O’Farrell. Not as good as being in Edinburgh, but the next best thing.
Hallo Betsy – yes, Daniel Hahn’s book ‘If This Be Magic’ was mentioned if not discussed in detail. I enjoyed the book as well, which was one of my reasons for attending that event. In fact, all three translators were very interesting. It was especially good to hear them talk about things for which there is no direct translation from, say, Japanese or Korean, and how translators have to find a way of conveying concepts in a way that resonates with a native English speaker.