Presto Recording of the Week
21st February 2025

Timothy Ridout (viola)

Telemann: Fantasia No. 1 in B-Flat Major, TWV 40:14 (Arr. for Solo Viola by Timothy Ridout)
Shaw, C: in manus tuas (Version for Solo Viola)
Telemann: Fantasia No. 7 in E-Flat Major, TWV 40:20 (Arr. for Solo Viola by Timothy Ridout)
Britten: Elegy for unaccompanied viola
Bach, J S: Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 (Arr. for Solo Viola by Simon Rowland-Jones)

The fact that Timothy Ridout has recorded a whole album of music for unaccompanied viola before the age of thirty is a telling indication of the meteoric rise of this prodigious, boundary-pushing artist. As is his choice of contrasting the Baroque era (Telemann and Bach) with two figures of modern music, in Britten's rarely heard Elegy and Caroline Shaw's in manus tuas. This program is a breathtaking ode to the viola over the centuries, played with all the fire of youth.

"Telemann's Fantasia No. 1 makes for an engaging curtain-raiser, the opening Largo unfolding with an airy, expansive grace...Perhaps the main event, though, is the final work: Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin, transcribed by Simon Rowland-Jones. Once your ears have adjusted to the lower keys you quickly forget that this music was ever intended for another instrument, especially in a performance as technically accomplished and nuanced as this." - Katherine Cooper,
Presto Music, 21st February 2025