Set amid the fishing villages and sweeping coastal skies of Fife in Scotland, the East Neuk Festival (ENF) presents its 20th edition this summer with a wide-ranging programme that reflects both its roots and its restless imagination. What began as a chamber music gathering in 2004 has grown into one of the UK’s most distinctive summer festivals, where world-class string quartets perform in village kirks, rising stars debut alongside seasoned legends, and audiences might wander from Schubert lieder to Scottish folk to electric guitar in a single day – often within walking distance.
At the heart of it all is artistic director Svend McEwan-Brown, who co-founded the festival with Donald and Louise MacDonald and has led it ever since. A former BBC Radio 3 producer with a flair for inspired juxtapositions, McEwan-Brown has shaped ENF into a place where programming is both serious and playful, intimate and expansive. He’s known for his instinctive curatorial style and a deep commitment to artist development, as well as a keen sense of how setting transforms performance.
This year’s programme is a quintessential ENF tapestry: all five of Beethoven’s late string quartets performed by four renowned ensembles, a new 16-player commission from Sally Beamish and a rich mix of classical, folk, and jazz offerings — all grounded in East Neuk’s unique sense of place. McEwan-Brown spoke with US correspondent Thomas May about the festival’s roots, its highlights for the 2025 edition and the art of programming with place in mind.
In a nutshell, what’s the story behind the founding of the East Neuk Festival?
No comments yet