The Festival is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sir Charles Mackerras, our Honorary President.

Sir Charles Mackerras gifted Edinburgh audiences some of the most acclaimed Festival performances in its 64 year history.

Sir Charles was an extraordinary musical genius with a long and distinguished career. He accumulated more performances (87 performances) and made a more varied contribution to the event than any other artist in the Festival's history, and it was this relationship that was celebrated in 2008 with his appointment as the Honorary President.

Sir Charles's first appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival was in 1952 at the Empire Theatre (now the Edinburgh Festival Theatre) with Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, conducting his own arrangement of Arthur Sullivan's Pineapple Poll. He returned in 1958 as Music Director for a season of 12 ballet premieres. In more recent years he is renowned for his performances at the Usher Hall with orchestras including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Hanover Band, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Soloists who have shared the Festival platform with Mackerras include Christian Zacharias, Felicity Lott, Sarah Walker, Philip Langridge, John Williams, Bryn Terfel, Ian Bostridge, Lisa Milne and Simon Keenlyside. In 2006 Mackerras conducted the seminal series of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies.

One of the most prized relationships which developed over Sir Charles's 58 years at the Festival is his partnership with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra which was to be celebrated with a performance of Sir Charles' favourite opera Idomeneo at the Festival this year.  The concert will go ahead, the Festival is reviewing how best to mark the occasion, and will inform audiences in the coming weeks.

Jonathan Mills, Festival Director, said: "Sir Charles was a marvellous musician and a fantastic colleague and friend. We are incredibly sad to hear of his passing and our thoughts are very much with his family at this time.

"As well as his contributions to the Edinburgh International Festival, he made an extraordinary contribution to Australian music, and to composers such as Janáček who would not be as well known or appreciated without his vision and life changing performances of their work.  It was a privilege to work with him and he will be dearly missed."