
The day’s activities included a morning rehearsal and an evening concert. Principal Bassoon Daniel Matsukawa and First Associate Concertmaster Juliette Kang make the five-minute walk from the hotel to Usher Hall. Photo by Todd Rosenberg 
The beautiful interior of Usher Hall during the morning rehearsal. Opened in 1914, the hall is Scotland’s only five-star concert hall. In addition to concerts, the hall has been used for a variety of things, including political rallies and sporting events. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Yannick and Lisa Batiashvili, who share a special friendship and connection through music, rehearse Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, which will be performed that evening. This is the fourth time Lisa has appeared on tour with the Philadelphians: the others were the 2015 Europe Tour, the 2018 US Tour, and the 2019 Asia Tour. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Even though the majority of the pieces performed on the tour have been played by the Orchestra recently, it is important to adjust to the acoustics of the hall. Here Yannick confers with Principal Viola Choong-Jin Chang. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky catches up with dear friend Wynton Marsalis over lunch to discuss future commissioning and performance projects. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
In between the rehearsal and concert, many musicians headed out for a bit of sightseeing. A number of them went to the Scotch Whiskey Experience, which tells the tale of Scotland’s national drink with high-tech exhibits, a barrel ride, and a tasting. Piccolo player Erica Peel and bass clarinetist Paul Demers take in a display of hundreds of different types of whiskey. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Principal Oboe Philippe Tondre and substitute violinist Julia Choi were among those at the Scotch Whiskey Experience. Here they are sampling whiskeys from different regions of Scotland. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Cellist Richard Harlow plays at the George Heriot’s School for a group of about 40 elementary students and staff. The brother of his daughter-in-law is a teacher at the school there and invited him to perform.
Principal Cello Hai-Ye Ni takes a walk on Victoria Street, which was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books.

Outside Usher Hall are posters for upcoming events, including the Orchestra’s final concert, a free performance to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Edinburgh International Festival. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Principal Bass Harold Robinson, who will retire from the Orchestra following the tour, kisses his wife, Janet, before entering the stage door at Usher Hall. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.
The concert opens with selections from Orchestra Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, an Edinburgh premiere. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Lisa Batiashvili joins Yannick and the Orchestra for Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, a work from 1916 that received its US premiere by the Philadelphians with Leopold Stokowski and violinist Paul Kochański. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Lisa with Yannick at the piano perform a beautiful encore, Debussy’s “Beau Soir.” Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts who is in town for the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, poses with Matías Tarnopolsky and Yannick backstage. She expressed her great joy at attending the concert, and the inclusion on the program of Florence Price’s First Symphony, another Edinburgh premiere. She also said: “Given that the impetus for the creation of the Edinburgh Festival was to bring people together during time of war and conflict, it is thrilling to share the hope, joy, and healing that music and all the arts continue to offer.” Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Many friends of the Orchestra were in the audience tonight, including violinist Nicola Benedetti and pianist Yefim Bronfman, posing here with Matías Tarnopolsky, Maria Rosario Jackson, and Yannick. Bronfman was in town to perform a recital with mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená and Benedetti played Bruch’s First Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In October she will become the first woman, and the first Scot, to be director of the Edinburgh International Festival since its founding in 1947. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Yannick makes a statement with his nail polish in support of the Ukrainian people and those in the LGBTQ+ community. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
The selection of the Frank and Price pieces reflect the Orchestra’s ongoing commitment to creative equity and inclusion in the world of orchestral music, and give international audiences an authentic representation of the Orchestra’s values. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Yannick and the Orchestra respond to the audience’s applause after the Price Symphony. As encores, they played another Price work, Adoration, and Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 21. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
Following the concert, the Orchestra’s trunks were loaded onto a truck for the drive to the Edinburgh Playhouse, the location of Saturday’s free concert. Photo by Todd Rosenberg