Timothy Ridout - Press Reviews

UK premiere: Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth

Harmonically unconventional yet accessible and engaging, Simpson’s concerto features a thoughtful orchestration that never overpowers the viola. Full orchestral episodes alternate with   intimate passages that place the soloist front and centre in the first movement. A brisk central    movement is very rhythmical. The technical challenges are formidable, especially in the third movement, but Ridout met them with ease. The cadenza, accompanied by two players on marimba, created an eerie, drone-like effect before a quote from the opening brought things full circle.

Leighton Jones, Bachtrack, 27 September 2025

Mark Simpson’s Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth — a Romanian idiom meaning, appropriately, face your fears — makes not just serious technical demands but expressive ones too. Exploding into existence, the concerto runs the gamut from outraged frenzy to desolate lamentation. Its colours and intimations of horror are vaguely reminiscent of late Berg, including its use of big percussion …  yet it feels very much like a concerto for our times: vulnerable and tender, fiery and frustrated. Ridout rose to the occasion brilliantly, carrying conviction at every turn. The relative intimacy of the hall meant we could appreciate even the scratches and screeches Simpson calls for…  for soloists up to the challenge, it’s a keeper and it was also a triumphant homecoming for the Liverpudlian composer.

World premiere: Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth

A breathtaking performance, the premiere, of a concerto that goes right to the centre of your soul.

Tom Service, BBC Radio 3 New Music Show, 1 March 2025

Timothy Ridout brought his considerable technical prowess and expressive attributes to an overwhelming reading, fully seconded by the DSO and its outgoing music director Robin Ticciati. … Ridout sailed triumphantly through some unconventionally laid-out double stopping and arpeggio passages, drawing form his Peregrino di Zanetto viola beautiful sounds throughout the piece’s huge range.

Carlos Maria Solare, The Strad, March 2025