British violist Timothy Ridout has won the 12th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, held on the Isle of Man. The 20-year-old receives £7,000, a London recital and a viola bow from Bishop Instruments and Bows Ltd. Second prize, worth £5,000, went to Manuel Vioque-Judde from France, while third prize, worth £3,000, was awarded to Wenhong Luo from China.
A student at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Ridout won the inaugural Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition at the age of 19 in October 2014, and was awarded Second Prize at the 2015 Windsor Festival International String Competition. At the Next Generation Festival in Bad Ragaz we heard him in a not really well working transcription of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, yet we admired his nuanced and lyrical playing.