(Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Opera)

The Edinburgh International Festival has announced a program change.

The company said, “Unfortunately, as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s COVID-19 protocols differ from current UK guidance, it has become necessary to change the program for the Thursday 25 August concert to accommodate the orchestra’s preferences.”

As a result, the program will now feature Beethoven Symphony No 5 and Rachmaninov’s “Isle of the Dead.”

The company added, “This is in replacement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The concert has been renamed Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on our website to reflect this change. Regrettably, this means that the Edinburgh Festival Chorus will not take part in this concert. However, they will still perform as planned in the Closing Concert, alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Scotland, on Sunday 28 August. We are confident that we have sufficient measures in place to ensure the safety of the chorus and orchestra to perform on stage together, following standard practice in UK concert performances.”

Ticketholders will have the option to get a refund if they no longer want to attend.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is set to conduct the concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra.