Mark Simpson: Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth in Berlin
The new viola concerto by Mark Simpson is premiered by Timothy Ridout in Berlin on 15 December. Drawing on a Romanian proverb about facing your fears, the new work features the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester conducted by Robin Ticciati, with further performances following in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland.
Timothy Ridout is in the spotlight for Mark Simpson’s new viola concerto, Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth, unveiled on 15 December. The soloist is joined by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester at the Philharmonie in Berlin, conducted by the orchestra’s Music Director Robin Ticciati. Further performances by Timothy Ridout, supported by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, follow in the 2025/26 season featuring the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Philzuid in the Netherlands and the Musikkolegium Winterthur.
The title of the concerto draws upon a Romanian proverb “A-ti lua inima în dinti” which means: to face your fears head on and move forward with courage. As the composer notes: “I resonated not only with the emotional sentiment of this proverb, but also the powerful imagery”. The new work follows earlier string concertos for cello (2018) and violin (2021), written for Leonard Elschenbroich and Nicola Benedetti respectively.
Cast in three movements, the 20-minute concerto opens with an explosion of fear from which four stanzas emerge, moving from pained expression, through lamenting, to tender lyricism. The second movement is highly energetic and rhythmical, ending with a quasi-folk dance in asymmetric patterns. The third movement which rises from low register leads to a cadenza for the soloist and the work’s finale.
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Born in Liverpool in 1988, Mark Simpson has established successful twin careers as composer and clarinettist. In 2006 he became the first-ever winner of both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year competitions. As well as a striking series of chamber and ensemble works, Simpson’s worklist features large-scale scores including the oratorio The Immortal (2015), premiered at the Manchester International Festival, and the chamber opera Pleasure (2016), commissioned by Opera North, the Royal Opera and Aldeburgh Music, which received its first German staging at Theater Erfurt last year.
Simpson highlights in 2025 include Thomas Adès conducting the orchestral concert-opener Israfel with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin on 26 June. The composer is currently working on a further concerto for premiere next summer.
> Further information on Work: Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth
Photo: Katja Feldmeier