Richard Baker is a composer based in Ceredigion, Wales. His distinctive work is often concerned with the transcription and transformation of extra-musical material, and is characterised by a refined ear for harmony and instrumental colour, coupled with a bold and often surprising rhetoric. In a career during which he also made his name as a sought-after conductor of contemporary music and opera, he has maintained a steady output of substantial, thought-provoking works. Milestones include: Learning to Fly (1999), the work that first brought his name to attention when it was presented by London Sinfonietta in their ‘State of the Nation’ festival; The Tyranny of Fun (2013) a commission for Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber-Scale Composition Award); The Price of Curiosity (2019), a commission for the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Radio 3; and Motet II (2020), a commission for Ensemble Télémaque, Marseille. All of these works – and others – will shortly be available on a portrait CD from NMC Recordings. Since 2004 he has been a Professor of Composition at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.  

  

Mae Richard Baker yn gyfansoddwr o Geredigion. Mae ei waith trawiadol yn ymwneud yn aml â thrawsgrifio a thrawsnewid deunydd all-gerddorol, gan fod wedi’i nodweddu gan glust dethol ar gyfer harmoni a lliw offerynnol, ynghyd â rhethreg feiddgar sy’n aml yn peri syndod. Yn ei yrfa mae hefyd wedi gwneud enw iddo’i hun fel arweinydd poblogaidd cerddoriaeth gyfoes ac opera, mae wedi dal ati i gynyrchu allbwn cyson o weithiau sylweddol sy’n procio’r meddwl. Ymhlith y cerrig milltir mae: Learning to Fly (1999), y gwaith a ddaeth â’i enw i sylw gyntaf pan gafodd ei gyflwyno gan y London Sinfonietta yn eu gŵyl ‘State of the Nation’; The Tyranny of Fun (2013) comisiwn ar gyfer Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (ac wedi’i enwebu ar gyfer Gwobr Cyfansoddi ar Raddfa Siambr y Gymdeithas Ffilharmonig Frenhinol); The Price of Curiosity (2019), comisiwn ar gyfer Cerddorfa Symffoni’r BBC/Radio 3; a Motet II (2020), comisiwn ar gyfer Ensemble Télémaque, Marseille. Bydd yr holl weithiau hyn – ac eraill – ar gael cyn bo hir ar gryno-ddisg portread o NMC Recordings. Ers 2004 mae wedi bod yn Athro Cyfansoddi yn Ysgol Cerdd a Drama Guildhall.