Frederick Craig Riddle OBE (20 April 19125 February 1995) was a British violist. He was considered to be in the line from

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English viola, violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born ...

and

William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...

, through to the violists of today such as

Lawrence Power Lawrence Power is a British violist, born 1977, noted both for solo performances and for chamber music with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio. Career Power started out as a violist (rather than beginning studies on the violin and swi ...

Early life and career

Frederick Riddle was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1912. He studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(RCM) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1928 to 1933. He had a solo career while playing with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

from 1933 to 1938. In 1938, was appointed principal viola with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

. He was a professor of the RCM from 1948 onwards. In 1953, he succeeded Harry Danks as principal violist of the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. Riddle was distinguished as a chamber music player and a concerto soloist. He made the first recording of

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

's Viola Concerto, on 6 December 1937, with the composer conducting.Answers.com
/ref> He was recommended for this recording by

. He made some revisions to the concerto, with Walton's approval. Although Walton conducted the work many times with leading soloists such as Tertis and

, the interpretation he liked above all others was Riddle's. He also performed the work in concert under Beecham.

Personal life and death

Riddle was married twice, and had three daughters. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1980. His first wife was soprano, conductor, and voice teacher Audrey Langford. In 1946, he married soprano singer Helen Clare. He died in Newport on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

in 1995, aged 82. He was survived by Clare, his second wife, who died in 2018, at the age of 101.

Premieres

Works that Frederick Riddle premiered included: *

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...

's Viola Sonata, in the 1940s. * Arthur Benjamin's Viola Concerto, in 1949, with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...

. * Elizabeth Lutyens's Viola Concerto, Op.15, in 1950 at the Promenade Concerts, with the BBCSO and John Hollingsworth conducting. * Giorgio Federico Ghedini's Viola Concerto, in 1953, with Beecham conducting. * Justin Connolly's ''Anima'' for viola and orchestra, in 1975, with the

under Sir Charles Groves * Howard Blake's Prelude for Solo Viola, Op. 402, in 1980

Appearances and recordings

He appeared in such works as: *

Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

: ''

Harold en Italie (''Harold in Italy, symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus 16, H. 68, written in 1834. Throughout, the unusual viola part represents the titular protago ...

'' (recorded with Beecham and Hermann Scherchen) * Delius: Serenade from

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

to James Elroy Flecker's ''Hassan'' (recorded with Beecham) * E.J. Moeran: Trio for Strings in G major, R. 59 (recorded with

Jean Pougnet Jean Pougnet (20 July 1907 – 14 July 1968) was a Mauritius, Mauritian-born concert violinist and orchestra concertmaster, leader, of British nationality, who was highly regarded in both the lighter and more serious classical repertoire during t ...

, violin; and Anthony Pini, 2nd viola) *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: Duo for Violin and Viola No. 1 in G major, K 423 (recorded with

Szymon Goldberg Szymon Goldberg (1 June 1909 – 19 July 1993) was a Polish-born Jewish classical violinist and conductor, latterly an American. Born in Włocławek, Congress Poland, Goldberg played the violin as a child growing up in Warsaw. His first teacher ...

) * Mozart: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano in E flat, K 498 ("Kegelstatt Trio") (recorded with Reginald Kell and

Louis Kentner Louis Philip Kentner (19 July 190523 September 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. Life and career He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin, Austrian S ...

) * Rubbra: Viola Concerto in A, Op. 75 (with Beecham) *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

: ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' (recorded with John Kennedy, RPO, Beecham conducting) * Vaughan Williams: '' Flos Campi'' (with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Bournemouth Sinfonietta Chorus, under

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was an English Conductor (music), conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; ...

) * Vaughan Williams: Suite for ViolaClassical.net
/ref>

Sources

* Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. VII, p. 160

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Frederick 1912 births 1995 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Music British classical violists Musicians from Liverpool Officers of the Order of the British Empire London Symphony Orchestra players Players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 20th-century British classical musicians 20th-century British musicians