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Each week in the build-up to the 2019 International Festival, we put together a playlist celebrating different elements of the programme.

You can still listen to our selections of different highlights, themed around individual artists, music genres, audience suggestions and staff picks.

In our first playlist of the year, we showcased the wide scope of music in the 2019 International Festival: from Gustavo Dudamel leading his orchestra at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Opening Event: LA Phil at Tynecastle for music from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, to the Polonaise from Tchaikovsky's best-loved opera Eugene Onegin.

We've also got a taste from West Side Story, an extract from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Sir James MacMillan's Quickening and some contemporary music sounds from Teenage Fanclub, Kae Tempest and more.

Record Store Day marks a celebration of independent record shops and the unique culture they house as artists around the world release limited edition LPs and represses of their previous work.

In 2019, Festival artists Teenage Fanclub released a repress of their second album which was originally deleted on its day of release in 1991 while This Is The Kit's first album Krulle Bol gets a special, limited re release on blue vinyl.

Having listened to these early albums, we delved into the back catalogues of our 2019 contemporary music artists to create this playlist.

Delve into all things opera with the playlist.

Hear some of Tchaikovsky's most captivating music from Eugene Onegin, experience Manon Lescaut's exquisitely tender melodies, delve into one of opera's most powerful love stories through Gluck's deeply moving Orfeo ed Euridice, and indulge in the epic conclusion of Wagner's Ring cycle. Top it all off with Bizet's iconic Carmen, performed alongside the 2019 Fireworks.

In the Usher Hall, pianist Angela Hewitt presents Bach’s monumental Well-Tempered Clavier, while Alisa Weilerstein joins the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. French viola player Antoine Tamestit is soloist in Orchestre de Paris’ performance of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy. Two of classical music’s most charismatic and fiery talents, Andreas Ottensamer and Yuja Wang, launch The Queen’s Hall concert series in spectacular style with a programme of works by Weber, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Debussy, Chopin and Horowitz. Wang also joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Usher Hall for the European premiere of John Adams’ 'Must the Devil Have All the good Tunes?'

Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns and is joined by Isata Kanneh-Mason for a rich programme including Debussy’s captivating Sonata in D minor and Mendelssohn’s passionate Second Cello Sonata. Beatrice Rana takes on Chopin, Ravel and Stravinsky, while Llŷr Williams will dazzle listeners with Grieg, Liszt and Wagner.

Our 2019 dance programme transports you from the Salem witch trials to the streets of Belfast and the gardens of Jupiter Artland. Timeless classics from Stravinsky and Beethoven provide part of the soundtracks to Yang Liping’s Rite of Spring and eloquent dance work 9. Stravinsky’s iconic music meets a new musical score from Chinese composer He Xuntian, who brings influences from traditional Tibetan music to help create a Rite of Spring unlike any version you’ll have seen before, while Martin Tétreault brings his experimental expertise to remix Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in family show 9.

Serge Aimé Coulibaly’s Kalakuta Republik brings a dizzying fusion of dance, music and revolution, inspired by the supercharged music and scandalous life of Fela Kuti. International DJ and electronic musician David Holmes adds the driving music behind Oona Doherty’s striking dance piece Hard to be Soft: A Belfast Prayer while Scott Twynholm provides the soundtrack to the visually stunning Purposeless Movements. The Crucible also features an original composition by the aptly named Peter Salem, whose score will be played live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, led by conductor Jean-Claude Picard.

This year we mark Sir James MacMillan's 60th birthday with five concerts during the International Festival. Scotland's national orchestras – Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – all lead concerts to highlight MacMillan's breadth of work, with the latter joining forces with eminent chorus The Sixteen and youth chorus Genesis Sixteen for the world premiere of the composer’s Fifth Symphony, Le grand inconnu.

Christopher Bell will conduct the Scottish premiere of MacMillan’s The Culham Motets, as well as his poignant oratorio All the Hills and Vales Along, written to commemorate the fallen of the First World War, while the brilliant Nash Ensemble perform his powerful piano trio, Fourteen Little Pictures.

Through his hit musicals, Leonard Bernstein succeeded in combining classical and contemporary techniques so that his music appealed both to opera and musical theatre audiences alike. This week's playlist takes you through sensational songs from his masterpiece West Side Story, including ‘America’, ‘I Feel Pretty’, ‘Tonight’ and ‘Somewhere’, all of which still thrill more than 60 years after the work’s premiere.

At the International Festival this year, Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts an augmented Broadway theatre scoring as Bernstein originally intended, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and special guest instrumentalists drawn from the worlds of jazz and musical theatre. A young, hand-picked cast from Scotland and America come together, with Puerto Rican-American soprano Sophia Burgos taking the role of Maria and lyric tenor Alek Shrader as Tony.

From the stage of Leith Theatre to the rafters of the Usher Hall and the plush red seats of The Lyceum, our 2019 contemporary music artists take over Edinburgh this August. This week's playlist takes us through their latest hits, singles and albums that we'll be dancing to all summer.

Presented in association with Edinburgh Gin

Generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, Johann Sebastian Bach is celebrated as a leading influence on the Baroque period and the creator of Well-Tempered Clavier and the Brandenburg Concertos, as well as numerous other towering masterpieces. This year we're hosting ten performances of Bach's key works, including two nights with Angela Hewitt performing his monumental Well-Tempered Clavier in the Usher Hall and three richly coloured and contrasting concerts in The Queen's Hall.

Hear the rare piano talents of Jeremy Denk in a programme of works also featuring Ligeti, Liszt, Berg and Schumann, or watch the Dunedin Consort and harpsichordist John Butt bring The Queen's Hall series to a close with two of Bach's larger-than-life secular cantatas. If you prefer your Bach in a more intimate setting, head to Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall, St Cecilia's Hall, for a concert series exploring the composer's complete keyboard concertos.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Resurrection features soprano Miah Persson, while Joyce DiDonato joins the National Youth Orchestra of the USA for Berlioz’s six ravishing love songs. World-renowned British countertenor Iestyn Davies performs one of the most powerful love stories in all of opera, Orfeo ed Euridice, with The English Concert. You can also hear the gorgeous tones of Sondra Radvanovsky in Manon Lescaut, with Donald Runnicles and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Powerhouse German baritone Michael Volle interprets Schubert, Mahler and Strauss, while US tenor Lawrence Brownlee and Scottish-born pianist Iain Burnside perform Schumann’s romantic masterpiece of sorrow, fury, hope and joy, before a programme of Poulenc, Liszt and Ginastera.

The spectacular Virgin Money Fireworks Concert brings together some unforgettable orchestral classics from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, with specially choreographed fireworks against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. This year, Catriona Morison, winner of one of the world’s most prestigious vocal competitions, joins the SCO for a selection of vocal and orchestral music from Bizet’s Carmen. Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila Overture will fill the gardens with dazzling colours while Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – immortalised in Disney’s Fantasia – and Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique both take you on a thrilling ride into a world of musical magic and mystery.

From the stage of Leith Theatre to the heights of the Usher Hall, the rafters of the Festival Theatre and on to the plush red seats of The Lyceum, our 2019 music and opera programmes are as eclectic as ever. This week's playlist celebrates World Music Day and takes us on a journey of what you can expect to hear in Edinburgh this August, pop your headphones on and have a listen.

Through more than 80 events, the You Are Here programme features artists from around the world as well as a series of readings, discussions, community projects and professional development opportunities. The series aims to offer fresh thinking on class, gender, human rights, racism and climate crisis, probing the status quo and offering future paths. With performances by spoken word artist Kae Tempest, Scottish Celtic fusion band Shooglenifty, a dance prayer for the people of Belfast with music from DJ David Holmes and much more.

Get a taste of what you'll hear at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Opening Event: LA Phil, celebrating the music of John Williams and the Golden Age of Hollywood. With Gustavo Dudamel and his Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra taking on a range of magical movie music, from the triumphant Olympic Fanfare to the dizzying heights of Vertigo and everything in between, there's an epic family-friendly concert coming to Tynecastle Park stadium this August.

This week's playlist takes you through some of the works you'll hear at the Usher Hall this August. From the London Symphony Orchestra's take on John Adams' Harmonielehre to the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing Mahler's unforgettable Resurrection Symphony, and even Joana Carneiro conducting Sir James MacMillan's riotous A Scotch Bestiary with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Usher Hall will play host to some of the world's greatest orchestras, soloists and ensembles at the International Festival next month.

This week, we've been around the International Festival office gathering some staff top picks from the 2019 programme. Listen now to our extended playlist packed with the music the International Festival team can't wait to hear this August.

Featuring Villagers, Sharon Van Etten, Anna Calvi and This Is The Kit from our Leith Theatre line-up, a beautiful ballad from West Side Story, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Wagner's Götterdämmerung, described by one staff member as, "a test of stamina, but totally worth it for Siegfried’s Funeral March alone".

This week we bring you our playlist of People's Picks, where we share songs from the International Festival programme that have been recommended by you, our audience. This year we have quite the mix, ranging from the monumental grandeur of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Cas Public's eloquent dance piece 9. We also bring you tunes from contemporary folk songwriter This Is The Kit, two of classical music’s most charismatic and fiery talents Andreas Ottensamer & Yuja Wang, and rock and brit-pop legends Teenage Fanclub and Jarvis Cocker.

Thank you to everyone who suggested their favourite songs from this year's programme, we'll see you in August for an International Festival brimming with exciting, eclectic and magical music.

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