In 2016 Ridout won 1st Prize in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.[3][4] He was the first British violist to win the first prize since the competition was established in 1980.[5][6]
He made his debut recital at the Wigmore Hall in London in March 2017 with Anthony Hewitt (piano),[7][8] and also that year released his debut album 'Vieuxtemps – Complete Works for Viola' with Champs Hill Records.[9][10]
In January 2020, he was the first winner of the inaugural Sir Jeffrey Tate Prize in Hamburg, established by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra in memory of its last conductor, Jeffrey Tate.[13]
His third solo album, A Poet's Love, with music by Prokofiev and Schumann arranged for viola (Ridout) and piano (Frank Dupree), released in August 2021, was a Gramophone Magazine Critics' Choice, a Presto Editor's Choice and was nominated in the Chamber Music category at the International Classical Music Awards 2022.[17][18][19][20]
In June 2023, Ridout was made a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.[26]
At the Gramophone Classical Music Awards on 4 October 2023, Ridout won the Concerto award for his recording of the Elgar ‘Viola Concerto’ and the Bloch Suite for Viola and Orchestra, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins.[27]
Ridout was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) in 2024.[28]
In July 2024, at the Kissinger Sommer International Music Festival, Ridout was awarded the Luitpold Prize.[29]
Ridout currently plays a viola by the Brescian violin maker Pellegrino Micheli c.1565–75 on loan from the Beare's International Violin Society.[30] The viola's back length is about 44 cm (~17.3 inches), but the bridge is further up the body than normal, so the playable string length is less and hence more manageable than what would be typical for such a large instrument.[31]
Discography
Albums
Debut Album: Vieuxtemps, Complete Works for Viola, Timothy Ridout (viola), Ke Ma (piano). Champs Hill Records. Released 2017
Britten, Vaughan-Williams, Hindemith, Martinu – Music for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, cond. Jamie Phillips. Claves Records. Released Feb. 2020
A Poet's Love – Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet. Schumann: Dichterliebe. Timothy Ridout (viola), Frank Dupree (piano). Harmonia Mundi, Nova. Released Aug. 2021.
Elgar: Viola Concerto. Bloch: Suite For Viola and Orchestra. Timothy Ridout (viola), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins. Harmonia Mundi. Release Date: 13 Jan 2023. (Diapason d’Or)[32]
A Lionel Tertis Celebration: Works by Bowen, Brahms, Bridge, Clarke, Coates, Fauré, Forsyth, Ireland, Kreisler, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Tertis, Vaughan Williams and Wolstenholme. Timothy Ridout (viola), Frank Dupree (piano), James Baillieu (piano). Harmonia Mundi. Released January 2024
Collaborations
Oliver Davis - Liberty, for Violin, Viola, Piano and Strings: Kerenza Peacock (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola) & Huw Watkins (piano). Liberty, Oliver Davis, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Paul Bateman. Signum Classics. Released 2018.
Gliere, Shostakovich & Hahn - Glière: Octet Op. 5; Hahn, R: Piano Quintet in F sharp minor; Shostakovich: Two pieces for string octet, Op. 11. Hanna Weinmeister, Tanja Tetzlaff, Florian Donderer, Byol Kang, Gergana Gergova, Timothy Ridout and Arturo Pizarro. Avi Label. Released October 2019.
Suk - Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 8; Things Lived and Dreamt, Op. 30. Kiveli Dorken (piano), Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Florian Donderer (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola), Tanja Tetzlaff (cello). Ars Produktion. Released 2020.
Hindemith - Kammermusik. Kronberg Academy Soloists. Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach. Ondine. Released September 2020.
Saint-Saens - Carnival of the Animals. The Kanneh-Masons, with Michael Morpurgo and Olivia Colman. Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin), Ayla Sahin (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Toby Hughes (double bass), Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano). DECCA. Released 6 Nov 2020.
French Works for Flute - Franck, Saint‐Saëns, Widor, Duruflé; Adam Walker (flute), James Baillieu (piano), Timothy Ridout (viola). Chandos. Released 2 April 2021.
Schubert - Octet In F Major. Wigmore Soloists. Isabelle van Keulen (violin), Benjamin Gilmore (violin); Timothy Ridout (viola); Kristina Blaumane (cello), Tom Gibbs (double bass), Michael Collins (Clarinet), Robin O’Neill (bassoon), Alberto Menéndez Escribano (French horn). BIS. Released 29 October 2021.
Mendelssohn - The String Quintets. Doric String Quartet, Timothy Ridout (viola). Chandos. Released 25 Feb 2022.
Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge, Four Hymns*, The House of Life. Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), *Timothy Ridout (viola). Hyperion. Released 1 April 2022.
Berlioz - Harold en Italie (with Les Nuits d’Été). Timothy Ridout (viola), John Nelson conducting the [Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg- Warner (Erato) 2022
Edmund Rubbra - The Jade Mountain, Songs. Claire Barnett-Jones (mezzo-soprano), Iain Burnside (piano), Marcus Farnsworth (baritone), Lucy Crowe (soprano), Timothy Ridout (viola), Catrin Finch (harp). Chandos. Released 3 March 2023.
Mozart - Piano Quartet no.1 in G minor, K478; Piano Quartet no.2 in E flat major, K493. Francesca Dego (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola), Laura van der Heijden (cello), Federico Colli (piano). Chandos. Released 11 August 2023.
^Solare, Carlos Maria (October 2021). "A Poet's Love - Song transcriptions that delightfully channel the viola's inner poet". The Strad Magazine. 132 (1578): 97.
^Quantrill, Peter (November 2021). "BBC Proms 2021 'Peter Quantrill attends the cream of the strings crop during this year's Proms season.'". The Strad. 132 (1579): 87.