Richard Boothby

Richard Boothby, a seasoned performer on the viol, has devoted himself not only to Baroque repertoire but also to broadening the modern works available for his instruments as a longstanding participant in the Fretwork ensemble.

Raised in South Wales, he encountered classical recordings at home, among them Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Symphony Orchestra through Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60. His school supplied free instrumental instruction, and at age 11 he faced a choice among violin, clarinet, or cello; although he had intended the oboe, he mistook the cello for it yet felt too self-conscious to object and therefore continued with the cello. At Manchester University he concentrated on musicology, completing an undergraduate thesis that addressed tonality in Wagner's Ring Cycle; during this period musicologist David Fallows presented him with a tenor viol to clarify a point, an encounter that ignited Boothby's fascination. He subsequently studied with Charles Medlam in London and, during 1980 and 1981, with early-music pioneer Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. After returning to Britain he began a freelance career while employed at the Early Music Shop in London, eventually relinquishing that position once performing engagements increased.

Boothby established the Purcell Quartet in 1984 and founded Fretwork the next year in 1985. Both ensembles prospered, and Fretwork has remained active into the mid-2020s, with Boothby its sole original member. He participated in nearly 50 recordings with the Purcell Quartet and more than 40 with Fretwork. Especially through the latter group he has taken a leading role in commissioning new music for viol consort, resulting in performances of works by Elvis Costello, Alexander Goehr, Nico Muhly, and George Benjamin. Boothby has also undertaken solo performances and recordings on the viol with unusual frequency; he has produced transcriptions of major Bach compositions for the instrument, and in 2016 he joined viola da gamba player Christophe Coin for French and English repertory performed on two viols while releasing, on the Harmonia Mundi label, a complete recording of William Lawes's music for lyra viol. He appears regularly in duo sonata repertoire alongside harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. In 2018 he moved to Signum Classics for a recording of Telemann fantasias and returned there in 2023 with the album Music to Hear...: Alfonso Ferrabosco, Music for Lyra Viol from 1609.