Frederick Craig Riddle OBE (20 April 1912 – 5 February 1995) was a British violist. He was considered to be in the line from Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, through to the violists of today such as Lawrence Power. [1]
Early life and career
Frederick Riddle was born in Liverpool in 1912. He studied at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London from 1928 to 1933. He had a solo career while playing with the London Symphony Orchestra from 1933 to 1938. In 1938, was appointed principal viola with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a professor of the RCM from 1948 onwards. In 1953, he succeeded Harry Danks as principal violist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [2]
Riddle was distinguished as a chamber music player and a concerto soloist. He made the first recording of William Walton's Viola Concerto, on 6 December 1937, [3] with the composer conducting. [4] He was recommended for this recording by Lionel Tertis. He made some revisions to the concerto, with Walton's approval. [5] Although Walton conducted the work many times with leading soloists such as Tertis and William Primrose, the interpretation he liked above all others was Riddle's. [6] He also performed the work in concert under Beecham. [2]
Personal life and death
Riddle was married twice, and had three daughters. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1980. [4] His first wife was soprano, conductor, and voice teacher Audrey Langford. [7] In 1946, he married soprano singer Helen Clare. [8]
He died in Newport on the Isle of Wight in 1995, aged 82. He was survived by Clare, his second wife, who died in 2018, at the age of 101. [8]
Premieres
Works that Frederick Riddle premiered included:
- Malcolm Arnold's Viola Sonata, in the 1940s. [9]
- Arthur Benjamin's Viola Concerto, in 1948, with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli.
- Giorgio Federico Ghedini's Viola Concerto, in 1953, with Beecham conducting. [2]
- Justin Connolly's Anima for viola and orchestra, in 1975, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Charles Groves
- Howard Blake's Prelude for Solo Viola, Op. 402, in 1980 [10]
Appearances and recordings
He appeared in such works as:
- Berlioz: Harold en Italie (recorded with Beecham [3] and Hermann Scherchen [11])
- Delius: Serenade from incidental music to James Elroy Flecker's Hassan (recorded with Beecham)
- E.J. Moeran: Trio for Strings in G major, R. 59 (recorded with Jean Pougnet, violin; and Anthony Pini, 2nd viola)
- Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola No. 1 in G major, K 423 (recorded with Szymon Goldberg)
- Mozart: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano in E flat, K 498 ("Kegelstatt Trio") (recorded with Reginald Kell and Louis Kentner) [3]
- Rubbra: Viola Concerto in A, Op. 75 (with Beecham) [2]
- Richard Strauss: Don Quixote (recorded with John Kennedy, RPO, Beecham conducting) [12]
- Vaughan Williams: Flos Campi (with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Bournemouth Sinfonietta Chorus, under Norman Del Mar) [3]
- Vaughan Williams: Suite for Viola [13]
Sources
- Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. VII, p. 160
- Music Web International
References
- ^ "BBC Music Magazine". Archived from the original on 16 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d Alan Denson (25 February 1995). "Obituary: Frederick Riddle". The Independent.
- ^ a b c d ArkivMusik
- ^ a b Answers.com
- ^ williamwalton.net Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Walton Viola Concerto: A Synthesis Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Elizabeth Forbes (30 August 1994). "Obituary: Audrey Langford". The Independent.
- ^ a b Obituaries, Telegraph (25 September 2018). "Helen Clare, singer – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ Naxos
- ^ howardblake.com
- ^ clsassicalcdreview
- ^ somm recordings
- ^ Classical.net
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