Festival previews in the capital:

Various venues, throughout August

Everything from theatre to children’s shows

When choosing a top concert or performance at the Edinburgh International Festival, I used to go for the scatter-gun effect knowing that at least one concert I selected would be good.

Experience has taught me to be more circumspect, although it still needs a bit of soul searching before my choice is whittled down to a reasonable number.

This year, four of my top five choices have a distinct Scottish touch – two soloists, one choir and one orchestra.

I’ve heard Nicola Benedetti many times but never in an all-baroque programme. Her performances of Vivaldi and Telemann concerti with the Academy of Ancient Music and Richard Egarr are not to be missed.

Neither is Catriona Morrison’s recital in the same venue, the Queen’s Hall. The first British winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year, Catriona’s recital of Lieder by Brahms, Schumann and Mahler was sold out in minutes. My ticket is something I won’t give away without a fight.

The choir is the marvellous National Youth Choir of Scotland, an ensemble of massive talent from ages 16 to 25. Under the baton of founder Christopher Bell, they’ll present a programme of music by Vaughan Williams, Tippett and Thea Musgrave.

The orchestra? The fabulous Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Their recent recordings of the four Brahms symphonies under conductor Robin Ticciati have had rave reviews – but to hear them in the flesh, so to speak? Hold me back.

An opera rounds off my five and is one of the most famous but also one of the most rarely heard. The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay dates back to 1728 and is a satirical look into greed, crime, immorality, poverty and inequality. This is the first time for many years I’ve had the chance to see this so was put on my list simultaneously with Benedetti, Morrison, NYCOS and the SCO.

But there’s much, much more. In opera, two by Rossini – Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola – rub shoulders with two concert performances. One is Hansel and Gretel, the other follows on from last year’s huge success of Die Walkure. Siegfried is the third of the EIF’S four-year Ring cycle and is fiveand-a-half hours of Wagnerian magic.

If orchestras are more your thing, choral music hits the spot or ensemble performances is your forte, you really can’t lose. There are two Mahler symphonies, the eighth and the ninth, chamber music from the Takacs, Pavel Hass and Dover string quartets, Dvorak’s Requiem and there’s a chance to hear the famous opening chords of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concert from Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero. And that’s just the tip of iceberg

John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera hits the stage in Edinburgh.