According to the French newspaper ›Le Monde‹, the London-born Timothy Ridout has – with just a few strokes of his bow – earned himself a place in the exclusive circle of great viola players. This season, at 31 years old, he is once again a guest performer with many leading international orchestras, including with Hannu Lintu and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Lorenza Borrani and the Orchestre de Paris and Sir Mark Elder with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. At the invitation of Roberto Abbado, he is also a guest performer with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Bologna and continues his close collaboration with Sir Simon Rattle. A highly regarded chamber musician, Ridout presents both solo and ensemble programmes. His chamber music partners include Janine Jansen, Frank Dupree, Isabelle Faust, Vilde Frang, Pablo Ferrández, Denis Kozhukhin and Klaus Mäkelä.
In March 2026, Timothy Ridout will be the artistic director of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Spring Festival, where he will present 17 programmes. He will also continue his three-year residency with the Junge Wilde in Dortmund and play three different programmes at Wigmore Hall. In Asia, he will perform at the first edition of the Verbier Festival in Shenzhen, the Beare’s Premiere Music Festival in Hong Kong and the NSO International Chamber Music Festival in Taipei. Ridout is also known for his extensive discography and records regularly for Harmonia Mundi. His next album, together with pianist Jonathan Ware and featuring 20th-century French music, will be released in May 2026.