Elgar: Viola Concerto - Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra Timothy Ridout, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Martyn Brabbins

• Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Arr. for Viola and Orchestra by Lionel Tertis):
• 1 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Arr. for Viola and Orchestra by Lionel Tertis): I. Adagio - Moderato 08:14
• 2 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Arr. for Viola and Orchestra by Lionel Tertis): II. Lento - Allegro molto 04:31
• 3 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Arr. for Viola and Orchestra by Lionel Tertis): III. Adagio 04:38
• 4 Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 (Arr. for Viola and Orchestra by Lionel Tertis): IV. Allegro - Moderato - Allegro ma non troppo - Poco più lento - Adagio 10:55
• Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): Suite for Viola and Orchestra, B. 41:
• 5 Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, B. 41: I. Lento 12:37
• 6 Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, B. 41: II. Allegro ironico 05:18
• 7 Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, B. 41: III. Lento 04:08
• 8 Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, B. 41: IV. Molto vivo 08:30
• Total Runtime 58:51

Info for Elgar: Viola Concerto - Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra

Timothy Ridout presents the wonderful viola version of Elgar's famous Cello Concerto. Lionel Tertis' arrangement was not only approved by Elgar, he even conducted its premiere in 1930. Alongside this deeply moving work, the young British violist offers a powerful, poetic reading of Bloch's much too rarely performed Suite for Viola and Orchestra, in which the Swiss-American composer indulged his fascination with the Orient.

"Taking full advantage of his instrument’s tone and flexibility, Ridout proceeds to give a thoughtful reading, one full of moody fantasy and wistful romance. The BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins is a sensitive and sympathetic partner here, giving the soloist plenty of space in which to reflect, and keeping the volume well under control where necessary." (Limelight Magazine)

Timothy Ridout, viola
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins, conductor

Timothy Ridout
a BBC New Generation Artist and Borletti-Buitoni Trust fellow, is one of the most sought-after violists of his generation. This season he appears as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Odense, San Jose symphony orchestras and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, amongst others. In 2020, Ridout won Hamburger Symphoniker’s inaugural Sir Jeffrey Tate Prize and joined the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center in 2021.

Other highlights this season include recitals and chamber concerts at Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Philharmonie Köln. Further afield, Ridout embarks on a South American tour with the Chamber Society of the Lincoln Centre, returns to Taipei for a series of concerts, and tours Australia with Musica Viva.

In recent seasons, Ridout has made his debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Hamburger Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lille, Camerata Salzburg, Graz Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Hallé, BBC Symphony, Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra, and performed the Walton Concerto at the BBCProms/Sakari Oramo and with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/David Zinman. He has also worked with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Lionel Bringuier, Gabor Takács-Nagy, Sylvain Cambreling, Nicholas Collon and Sir Andras Schiff.

Sought after as a chamber musician, Ridout has taken part in numerous festivals across Europe, including Rheingau, Bergen, Rosendal, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sion and Lockenhaus, and regularly collaborates with leading international artists including Janine Jansen, Steven Isserlis, Joshua Bell, Isabelle Faust, Kian Soltani, Benjamin Grosvenor, Nicolas Altstaedt and Christian Tetzlaff, among many others.

Ridout records for the Harmonia Mundi label. His latest album – ‘A Poet’s Love’ –was recorded with pianist Frank Dupree and features selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and their own transcription of Schumann’s Dichterliebe. New releases include, amongst others, Berlioz Harold en Italie with Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/John Nelson on Warner/Erato, and Bloch Suite for Viola and Orchestra and Elgar Concerto with BBC Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins.

Born in London in 1995, Ridout studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence. He completed his Masters at the Kronberg Academy with Nobuko Imai in 2019 and, in 2018, took part in Kronberg Academy’s Chamber Music Connects the World.

He plays on a viola by Peregrino di Zanetto c.1565 – 75 on loan from a generous patron of Beare’s International Violin Society.

Booklet for Elgar: Viola Concerto - Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra