‘Richard Baker describes himself as a craftsman rather than a romantic visionary, and his pieces are supremely well-made; it’s rare to have a sense of everything serving its purpose with such clarity and energy. But the result for the listener of this practical attention to detail is anything but humdrum; Baker is drawn to sound worlds of glamorous, shiny beauty, where the emotional stakes are high and the inner drama fiercely driven and directed. At the heart, however, are moments of deeply appealing tenderness and even innocence. It’s rare for so young a composer to discover so individual and confident a voice; it’s rarer still for a listener to find a composer in whom he can feel so immediate and instinctive a trust.’

Richard Baker was born in 1972 and received his earliest musical education as a chorister in Lichfield Cathedral Choir. After reading Music at Exeter College, Oxford, he was awarded a Netherlands Government Scholarship for study with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Doctoral study followed under John Woolrich at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Learning to Fly (1999), a concertante for Basset clarinet and ensemble, was premièred by Timothy Lines and the London Sinfonietta under Martyn Brabbins at the 1999 State of the Nation weekend. Los Rábanos (1998) has been performed and broadcast widely, and was recorded by the Composers Ensemble on The Hoxton Thirteen CD for NMC Recordings. Additionally, Richard's music has been performed by the Britten Sinfonia, The Brunel Ensemble, and the BBC Singers at the Aldeburgh, Spitalfields and Hampstead and Highgate festivals, the Europäischer Musikmonat (Switzerland) and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Acclaimed as a talented and versatile conductor of the contemporary repertoire, Richard has directed many of the UK's leading new music ensembles including Almeida Opera, Apartment House, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Composers Ensemble, London Sinfonietta and [rout]. In November 2004 he made his debut with German ensemble musikFabrik, and in January 2006 was Music Director for Labor für Musik Theater's production of Franco Evangelisti's Die Schachtel, at the Ultraschall festival in Berlin.

Recent commissions include: Slow passage, low prospect, a cycle of songs for Christopher Purves (baritone) and Andrew West (piano) in collaboration with poet Lavinia Greenlaw for the 2004 Aldeburgh Festival; and Written on a train (2006) commissioned by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust for mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and an outstanding group of young instrumentalists led by violinist Christian Tetzlaff. Future projects include a work for New York based trio 'Real Quiet' for the 2008 Muzik3 festival in San Diego, and a larger scale work for Christianne Stotijn with percussionist Colin Currie.

Richard is currently Fellow-Commoner in Music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and a Professor of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

‘…full of light and lyricism’

Peter Reed, Sunday Telegraph, on Slow passage, low prospect (2004)

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Los Rabanos

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Angelus

Here Be Monsters

‘…music of bejewelled brilliance and clarity, whose glinting piano writing provided a rippling counterpoint to haunting, lyrical vocal lines.’

Tom Service, Guardian, on Slow passage, low prospect (2004)