Alan Ridout

Alan Ridout (1934-1996, born West Wickham, Kent) was a British composer and teacher.

=Life=He studied at the Royal College of Music, London with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob, and was later taught by Michael Tippett, Peter Fricker and (under a Dutch government scholarship) Henk Badings.

He went on to teach at the Royal College of Music, the University of Birmingham, the University of Cambridge, the University of London, and at The King's School, Canterbury. He also broadcast musical talks on the radio.

His works include church, orchestral and chamber music, much of it for children. His style is mostly simple and tonal, though in younger life he wrote some microtonal works.

Alan Ridout worked regularly with the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra. Ridout's "Three Pictures of Picasso", originally written for the National Youth Orchestra, was performed by the LSSO at a De Montfort Hall concert conducted by Rudolf Schwarz in 1964 in the presence of the composer. Ridout then composed his second symphony for the LSSO and dedicated it to Sir Michael Tippett to mark his 60th birthday (though Ridout did not hold Tippett in high regard). The symphony was first performed in 1965 and also featured in the television programme "Overture with Beginners" (see video link below). The 1967 Leicestershire Schools Music Festival included a number of LSSO commissions and in May that year Ridout’s dance drama "Funeral Games for a Greek Warrior" made its debut at De Montfort Hall. In July 1967 the LSSO made its first commercial disc for the Pye Golden Guinea label and Ridout responded to a request for a short work for inclusion on the disc by composing a lively "Concertante Music". The work’s debut took place on a record rather than at a public concert which is unusual to say the least. "Concertante Music" was then taken on the LSSO tour of Denmark and Germany in September 1967 (see external video link below).

He also wrote a suite of pieces called "A day in the country".

Alan Ridout lived for much of his life in Canterbury.

=Works=This is not a complete list of Ridout's works.

Instrumental Music

Keyboard

*"White Notes, Black Notes, Key Notes"
*"Portraits," Eight Pieces for Piano
*"Dance Preludes"
*"Little Sad Sound"
*"Canticle of the Rose" for pipe organ
*"Three Nativity Dances" for organ (1971)

Brass

*"Six Diversions" for horn
*"Light and Shade" for horn & piano
*"Eclogue" for trombone & piano

Winds

*"Snow Scenes" for saxophone in E-flat & piano
*"Concertino" for clarinet, piano
*"Sonatina" for clarinet & piano
*"A Day in the Country" for recorder & piano
*"Music Through the Ages" in two volumes for recorder, ISBN 9781860962929
*"To Autumn" for flute & piano
*"Shepherd's Calendar" for 4 bassoons & narrator
*"Folies De Paris" for contrabassoon & piano
*"Farndale Dances" for solo piccolo
*"6 Melodies" for flute & piano
*"Epitaph for Michael" for clarinet
*"Concertino for Alto Saxophone and Strings

trings

*"Seascapes" for viola or cello & piano
*"Concerto" for double bass & strings
*"Bagatelles" for cello & piano.
*"Music for Three Violoncelli"
*String Quartet No. 1
*String Quartet No. 2
*String Quartet No. 3
*String Quartet No. 4
*String Quartet No. 5
*String Quartet No. 6

Choral Music

*"Songs of Advent" for unison voices & organ
*"Let Us With A Gladsome Mind" for SATB choir & percussion
*"Canticle of Joy" for countertenor & tenor solo, SATB choir & orchestra
*"The Beatitudes" for SSAA choir
*"Through The Day" for SSA, organ

=External links=
* [http://www.lsso.co.uk/ Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra website]
* [http://www.sanctuaryclassics.com/index.php?section=4&subsection=1&getArticleId=244 Sanctuary Classics Alan Ridout Biography]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960323/ai_n14037599 Obituary: Alan Ridout from The Independent (London) Mar 23, 1996]

=Video=
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL3Bw2EPQEs Sir Michael Tippett and Eric Pinkett rehearse Ridout's 2nd Symphony with the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra in 1965]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LzBtnN6zf8 A complete performance of "Concertante Music"]