Dawn Upshaw joins the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich at Edinburgh's Usher Hall tonight as part of that city's annual musical celebration, the Edinburgh International Festival. On the program are Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Berio's folk songs, and Mahler's Symphony No. 4. Leading the proceedings is David Zinman, the orchestra's director since 1995 and a maestro not unfamiliar to Upshaw: in 1991, he led the soprano and the London Sinfonietta in the Nonesuch recording of Henryk Górecki's Third Symphony, which would go on to become the most successful recording of a new composition in the history of the record business.

The Herald, Scotland's leading newspaper, takes a look at this "global smash, its plaintive, elegaic music finding its way into the collections of people who bought few classical recordings," as part of a closer look at the career of the singer who helped make it such a success.

In the article, Upshaw describes her experience making the Górecki album and the public reaction to it. "We had our profound experience recording it, but we were expecting the usual small number of people to hear it," she recalls. "It felt private and special and for so many people to respond to it was a shock. Perhaps it touched on something at a particular time, but I still find it calming and comforting."

Read the complete article at theherald.co.uk.

Upshaw remains in the UK this week, with a performance at London's Royal Albert Hall slated for this Saturday evening. She joins Zinman and the Tonhalle-Orchester again for a BBC Prom featuring an encore performance of the Mahler, Schubert's Rosamunde Overture, and the UK premiere of She Was Here, a new piece by Osvaldo Golijov tied to four songs by Schubert. Next week, the performers head to the orchestra's home country of Switzerland for a repeat of the Edinburgh program at the Auditorium Stravinski in Montreux.

For information on these and other upcoming performances by Dawn Upshaw, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.