Conductor Robert Hart Baker is Music Director and Conductor of the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cadenza Orchestra in St Charles, Missouri. Under his leadership, his groups present and former have experienced unprecedented artistic growth and enjoy a large following of devoted concertgoers. He is principal guest conductor with the Asheville Lyric Opera Company. He is also Music Director Laureate of York Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Music Director Emeritus of the Harrisburg Choral Society and Orchestra in Pennsylvania, and Conductor Laureate of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina.
A former student of Herbert Von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein and a graduate of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Robert Hart Baker is one of the most experienced conductors of his generation, with a vast repertoire from Bach to Stravinsky. Among the more than 1000 concerts he has led have been complete cycles of the Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky symphonies and Strauss tone poems, in addition to most of the orchestral works of Mahler, Dvorak, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Ernest Bloch. As a guest conductor he has appeared with many American orchestras, including Billings, Chattanooga, Flagstaff, Harrisburg, Muskegon, Providence, Quincy (IL), the Boston Pops and Radio City Music Hall to name but a few.
His recent international guest conducting engagements have been with the Regina Symphony in Canada, Orquestra do Norte in Porto, Portugal, the State Philharmonic Orchestra in Vratza, Bulgaria, and the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra in Toluca, Mexico. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the orchestras of Szeged, Hungary; Sabadell, Spain; Messina, Italy; Pusan, Korea; and Zurich, Switzerland. Fluent in French, German and Italian, he is equally at home with opera. He has appeared as an opera conductor with the Spoleto Festival, Brevard Music Center, Connecticut, and Cullowhee Festival opera companies. He served as an assistant conductor to Christian Badea and Gian Carlo Menotti for six summers in Italy. He has conducted the North Carolina Dance Theatre ballet company on three occasions. He stepped in on short notice for Maestro Enrique Batiz to conduct a full ballet production of Romeo & Juliet by Prokofiev in Lecce, Italy with the Balletto del Sud.
As a conductor, he has collaborated on multiple concertos with many of today's leading soloists, including pianists Andre Watts, Dickran Atamian, Seth Carlin, Misha Dichter, Claude Frank, Jingyi Zhang, Sergei Edelmann, Eric Himy, Alexander Peskanov, Awadagin Pratt, Jon Klibonoff, Anne-Marie McDermott, Richard Frank, Adam Golka, Valentina Igoshina, Leonid Kuzmin, Constanine Orbelian, Christopher O'Riley, Thomas Pandolfi, Natasha Paremski, and Dmitri Ratser; violinists Joshua Bell, Gabriel Banat, Sarah Chang, Daniel Heifetz, Pamela Frank, Natasha Korsakova, Janice Martin, Stefan Milenkovic, Mark Peskanov, Philip Quint, Eugene Drucker, John Eaken, Anna Rabinova, Ilya Kaler, Xiang Gao, Lynn Chang, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, David Halen and Pip Clarke; violists Paul Neubauer and Andy Simionescu; cellists Ani Aznavoorian, Carter Brey, Yo-Yo Ma, Zuill Bailey, Allison Eldredge, Daniel Gaisford, Scott Kluksdahl, David Finckel, Richard Hirschl, Daniel Lee and Paul Tobias; flutists James Galway and Carol Wincenc; clarinetists David Shifrin and Hakan Rosengren; saxophonists James Houlik and Branford Marsalis; French hornists Richard Todd and Roger Kaza; trumpeters David Hickman, Martin Berinbaum and Ronald Romm; English hornist Thomas Stacy, harmonica soloist Robert Bonfiglio, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, percussionist Lisa Pegher. guitarist Angel Romero, harpsichordist Gretchen Dekker; sopranos Lisa Williamson, Jacqueline Culpepper, Laura Heydt-Adams, Beth McDowell Baldwin and Lindsey McKee; mezzo-sopranos Betty Allen, Gwendolyn Bowers and Jennifer Larmore; tenors Jason Baldwin, Brian Cheney, Daniel Rodriguez, Mario Frangoulis and George Perris; and baritones Jonathan Hays, Gregory Gerbrandt, Justino Diaz and David Malis. At the 10th anniversary concert of the Asheville Lyric Opera, he had the pleasure of conducting arias with a stellar cast of singers from the Metropolitan Opera, including soprano Angela Brown, tenor Tonio Di Paolo, and baritone Sherrill Milnes.
Maestro Baker is committed to the training and education of young musicians. He served as Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and Interim Chair at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and has taught at Mars Hill College, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and the State University of New York at Purchase. He is the former Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall, and conductor laureate of the York (PA) Youth Symphony. He has also been a guest faculty member at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He was a longtime adjunct faculty member at York College of Pennsylvania and Penn State York, teaching composition, oboe, conducting, songwriting, giving workshops in instrumental and choral techniques, and coaching chamber music.
Robert can count many of the music world's leading figures among his private teachers. Born in New York, he began playing the oboe at age 9, and continued his musical studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the Horace Mann School, where his teachers included Johannes Somary, Henry Bloch, and Henry Schuman. He holds a diploma in conducting from the Salzburg Mozarteum in Austria, where he made his professional conducting debut at age 17 after studies with Herbert von Karajan, and a diploma in oboe from the Summer Academy in Nice, France, where he studied with Lucien Debray. He is a cum laude graduate of Harvard, where conducted the Bach Society Orchestra for two seasons, while studying conducting privately with Leonard Bernstein and James Yannatos, and oboe with Ralph Gomberg. His early training included conducting rehearsals of the Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Quebec Symphonies.
He holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in conducting from the Yale School of Music, where he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and Arthur Weisberg, and oboe with Robert Bloom and Ronald Roseman. Robert was the founding Music Director of the Connecticut Philharmonic Orchestra at age 22, receiving critical acclaim for its debut in Boston Symphony Hall. A scholar in American music, he worked on closely on projects with composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Suzanne Bloch while at Yale, where he also gave lectures on score reading and analysis as a graduate assistant. He did extensive research on the manuscripts of orchestral works by Horatio Parker (better known as the teacher of Charles Ives) and Paul Hindemith. Robert is also an expert on the music of Caryl Florio (born William Robjohn), the London-born organist who became composer-in-residence at the famed Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in the early 20th century.
Robert was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from York College of Pennsylvania, and has received two awards from the American Society of Composers, Publishers & Authors for contemporary music programming. He has recorded with several record labels, including Aurefon, Denon, Ernest Bloch Society, and Sonari. His arrangement of the Borodin Nocturne is currently available on CD from Vanguard Records played by the English Chamber Orchestra. While in London, he studied the symphonies of Haydn and oratorios of Handel from original manuscripts at the British Museum. Robert, an active oboist, is married to Barbra Duvall Baker, flutist and jazz vocalist. They have appeared in joint recital at the Palaces of St. Petersburg Chamber Music Festival in Russia, and have performed on the Performers of Westchester Chamber Music Series in New York. The busy musical couple raises and rides Paso Fino and Andalusian horses in their spare time.
Curriculum vitae: Robert Hart Baker, conductor
Home address: 1301 Highway K, Saint Clair, MO 63077-3432
Cellphone: (717) 847-1155; Fax (636) 322-1295
E-mail: RobertharB@aol.com
Objective: To be Music Director/Conductor of professional orchestras and opera companies; to teach at the college/conservatory level.
Current Positions:
Music Director and Conductor, St. Louis (MO) Philharmonic Orchestra, 1982—present
Received 2004 Telly Award (national), best classical local cable TV production
(HEC-TV Holiday Spectacular educational broadcast and DVD)
Conducted 5 classical subscription, 2 pops concerts per season
Raised level of musicianship of orchestra players and caliber of guest artists
Made commercial recordings of Dvorak: Symphony No.8 and Holst: The Planets
Principal Guest Conductor, Asheville (NC) Lyric Opera, 2004—present
Conducted 1 major staged opera production per season
Music Director and Conductor, Cadenza Orchestra, as staff member of St. Charles County Youth Orchestra, MO 2014—present
Conducted 2 major classical programs per season
Previous Orchestral Positions:
Music Director Emeritus and Conductor, Harrisburg (PA) Choral Society, 2004—2013
Conducted 2 oratorio/major choral work concerts with orchestra per season
Adjunct Faculty, Penn State York (PA), 2005—2013 (courses in choral and instrumental music)
Music Director Laureate and Conductor, York (PA) Symphony Orchestra, 1983—2013
Received ASOL Volunteer Council Awards (national) for Saturday Morning Symphony (2005), and Student Song Contest (2003) educational outreach programs Conducted 5 classical subscription, 5 pops, 2 educational concerts per season
Helped increase annual budget from $80,000 to $800,000; added Pops-in-the-park series Raised level of musicianship of orchestra players and caliber of guest artists
Music Director and Conductor Laureate, Asheville (NC) Symphony Orchestra, 1981-2004
Conducted 6 classical subscription, 3 pops, 1 educational concert, 1 opera per season
Helped increase annual budget from $100,000 to $800,000
Raised level of musicianship of orchestra players and caliber of guest artists
Made commercial recordings of Brahms, Mahler symphonies and Strauss tone poems
Music Director and Conductor Laureate, York (PA) Youth Symphony, 1987-1999
Conducted 3 classical subscription, 3 educational/run-out concerts per season Performed on tour
in Heinz Hall (Pittsburgh), Carnegie Hall (New York)
Music Director and Conductor, New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall, 1977-1981
Conducted 3 classical subscription, 3 educational/run-out concerts per season
Introduced chamber music and contemporary music commissions for young composers
Music Director and Conductor, Putnam (NY) Symphony Orchestra, 1979-1981
Music Director and Conductor, Danbury (CT) Little Symphony, 1978-1980
Founding Music Director and Conductor, Connecticut Philharmonic Orchestra, 1976-2001
Music Director and Conductor, Bach Society Orchestra, Cambridge, MA, 1972-74
College Teaching Experience:
Adjunct Instructor in Oboe, Lindenwood University, MO, 2014—present
Taught Woodwind Techniques, oboe, and World Music
Director of Orchestral Activities, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 1985-1990
Conducted 3 classical full orchestra and 2 classical chamber orchestra concerts per season
Adjunct Associate Professor of Music, University of North Carolina at Asheville, 1981-2001
Taught music history, aural skills, orchestral conducting, oboe; interim chair 1995-96
Gave special seminars on Hindemith, Stravinsky, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, & chamber music
Director of Choral Activities, State University of New York at Purchase, 1978-1980
Visiting Adjunct Professor of Music, Mars Hill College, NC, 1996-1998
Taught music history and oboe
Guest Conducting:
American: Boston Pops, Billings, Cheyenne, Flagstaff, Chattanooga, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Radio City Music Hall (NYC), West Shore (Muskegon, MI), Roanoke, Quincy (IL) and Harrisburg (PA) Symphony Orchestras; Chamber Orchestras: Cumberland Valley (PA), South Carolina Philharmonic; Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra (State College, PA)
International: Orquestra do Norte (Porto, Portugal); Sabadell (Barcelona, Spain); Symphonic Orchestra of Zurich (Switzerland); Virtuoso Strings of Messina (Sicily); Pusan Symphony (Korea); Szeged Philharmonic (Hungary); Vratza State Philharmonic (Bulgaria); State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra (OSEM); Regina Symphony (Canada)
Opera and Ballet Conducting:
Asheville (NC) Lyric Opera—Carmen, Don Pasquale, La Boheme, Pirates of Penzance, La Traviata,
Madama Butterfly, Barber of Seville
Brevard Music Center—Carmen; Connecticut Opera—Madama Butterfly
Cullowhee Music Festival—Music Director & Conductor, 1987-1989
La Traviata, Rigoletto, Marriage of Figaro
Festival of the Two Worlds, Spoleto, Italy and Charleston, SC—Assistant Conductor, 1977-1983
Worked on productions with Gian Carlo Menotti, Christian Badea & Joseph Flummerfelt
The Medium, La Cenerentola, The Merry Widow, Amahl, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Conducted performance of Samuel Barber's Anthony and Cleopatra
Lecce, Italy--Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet [complete ballet] (Tito Schipa Opera Orchestra, 2003)
Other Experience:
Artistic Consultant, Price Rubin & Partners artist management firm, Tulsa, OK, 2014—present
Baroque music editor and arranger, English Chamber Orchestra, London, 1970-73
Wrote ornamentation for Handel Water Music & Royal Fireworks Music, Vanguard Records
Oboe soloist, Brevard (NC) Chamber Orchestra, Abendmusik Chamber Orchestra, York, PA
Oboe soloist, Palaces of St. Petersburg Chamber Music Festival, Russia, 1995-1997
Oboe soloist, York Symphony Orchestra, Bach Concerto for Oboe & Violin with Odin Rathnam, violin,York, PA, 2009
Guest oboist, Performers of Westchester Chamber Music Series, New York, 2005
Orchestral oboist (substitute), North Carolina Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of New England Orchestral
English hornist, Yale Philharmonia (under Solti, Boulez, Jussi Jalas, Copland, Penderecki)
Education:
Studies (piano, theory, oboe) at Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division, NYC, 1969-71
Diplomas in Oboe & Chamber Music, Academie Internationale d'ete, Nice, France, 1970
Diploma in Conducting, Mozarteum Conservatory, Salzburg, Austria, 1971
High School Diploma, Horace Mann School, Riverdale, NY, 1971
A.B. cum laude, Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, 1974
M.Mus. in orchestral conducting, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1976
M.M.A. in orchestral conducting, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1978
D.M.A. in orchestral conducting, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1987
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), York College of Pennsylvania, York, PA, 1999
Awards and Honors:
George Jellinek and Beethoven (John Green) Medals in Music, Horace Mann School, 1971
Leonard Bernstein Music Scholarship, Harvard College, 1972-74
National Federation of Music Clubs, Composition Award, 1977
ASCAP contemporary music programming awards
1977, New York Youth Symphony; 1986, York (PA) Symphony Orchestra
Private conducting teachers:
Herbert von Karajan (1971), Henry Bloch (1969-71), Johannes Somary (1969-71), Leonard Bernstein (1972-74), James Yannatos (1971-74), Aaron Copland (1975-76), Otto-Werner Mueller (1974-78), Arthur Weisberg (1986-87)
Conducting masterclasses:
Lorin Maazel, Sergiu Commissiona, William Steinberg, Harold Farberman, Morton Gould, Maurice Abravenel,
Morton Gould, Jorge Mester
Private oboe lessons:
James Byars (NYC Ballet), Henry Schuman (Manhattan School of Music), Ralph Gomberg (Boston Symphony),
Thomas Stacy (NY Philharmonic), Robert Bloom and Ronald Roseman (Yale School of Music)
Publications/Recordings:
Arranger: Borodin—Nocturne for String Orchestra, LP and CD released on Vanguard Records
Conductor: Liszt—Piano Concertos (Richard Frank), Szeged Philharmonic, Hungary, CD on Denon & Aurefon Records
Conductor: Brahms—Symphonies Nos.1&3, Mahler Symp. No.4, Dvorak Symp.No.8, Strauss Till Eulenspiegel, works of Caryl Florio, Asheville Symphony Orchestra CDs on Sonari Records
Conductor: Holst—Planets, Wagner Rienzi Overture, Ravel Daphnis & Chloe Suite No.2, St. Louis Philharmonic CDs on Sonari Records; HEC-TV "2010 Holiday Pops Concert" DVD
Mario Frangoulis and Friends—conductor on Blu-ray disc, St. Louis Philharmonic for Horatio Alger Society 2012
Conductor: Mendelssohn—Violin Concerto (David Perry), Cullowhee Music Festival Orchestra CD, Sonari Records
Conductor: Liszt—Malediction, Strauss Don Juan, Cullowhee Music Festival Orchestra CD on CMF label
Conductor: Bloch—Symphony in C-sharp minor, St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, LP released on Ernest Bloch Society Records
Soloists Accompanied With Orchestra:
Pianists: Joaquin Achucarro, Dickran Atamian, Seth Carlin, Misha Dichter, James Dick, Sergei Edelmann, Claude Frank, Adam Golka, Yuliya Gorenman, Eric Himy, Valentina Igoshina, Yakov Kazman, Richard Kogan, Leonid Kuzmin, Oleg Marshev, Anne-Marie McDermott, Christopher O'Riley, Constantine Orbelian, Thomas Pandolfi, Natasha Paremski, Alexander Peskanov, Dimitri Ratser, Avis Romm, Roman Rudnitsky, Peter Serkin, Boris Slutsky, Vladimir Stoupel, Andre Watts and Jingyi Zhang. Violinists: Joshua Bell, Lynn Chang, Sarah Chang, Pip Clarke, Pamela Frank, David Halen, Daniel Heifetz, Ilya Kaler, Rachel Lee, Janice Martin, Stefan Milenkovich, Kurt Nikkanen, David Perry, Mark Peskanov, Philippe Quint Anna Rabinova, Aaron Rosand and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Violists: Paul Neubauer, Andy Simionescu. Cellists: Ani Aznavoorian, Zuill Bailey, Carter Brey, David Finckel, Daniel Gaisford, Richard Hirschl, Scott Kluksdahl, Daniel Lee, Janos Starker and Paul Tobias. Saxophonists: Paul Cohen, James Houlik and Branford Marsalis. Flutists: James Galway and Carol Wincenc. English hornist: Thomas Stacy. Clarinetists: Hakan Rosengren and David Shifrin. Trumpeters: Stephen Burns, David Hickman and Ronald Romm. French hornists: Roger Kaza, Richard Todd. Percussionist: Lisa Pegher. Harpsichordist: Gretchen Dekker. Guitarist: Angel Romero. Harmonica soloist: Robert Bonfiglio. Sopranos: Angela Brown, Lindsey McKee, Lisa Williamson. Mezzo-sopranos: Gwendolyn Bowers and Jennifer Larmore. Tenors: Tonio Di Paolo, Mario Frangoulis, Daniel Rodriguez. Baritones: David Malis and Sherrill Milnes.
Musical References with address, phone and e-mail:
Pamela Frank, concert violinist, 52 Junard Drive, Morris Township, NJ 07960 tel (973-656-0948)
cell (347) 262-8002 fax (973) 656-1942 [no e-mail]
Daniel Heifetz, concert violinist, 2658 Legends Way, Ellicott City, MD 21042 tel (410) 461-1890 (home)
office tel (410) 480-8006 Sept-May office (jadeproductions.com / (603) 515-3156 June-Aug office@heifetzinstitute.org
Pamela Grooms, Music Department Chair, Lindenwood University, tel (636) 949-4320 (office)
209 South Kingshighway Street, St Charles, MO 63301 pgrooms@lindenwood.edu
Ronald Romm, trumpet soloist, founding member Canadian Brass, cellphone (941) 780-5317
4099 Higel Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34242 ronromm@yahoo.com
Dr. Joyce Dorr, professor of music (retired), UNC-Asheville, tel (828) 258-1206 (home)
169 Cherokee Road, Asheville, NC 28804 jdorr@comcast.net or jdorr@unca.edu
Employment References with address, phone and e-mail:
William R. Hartman, board president, York Symphony Orchestra
First Vice Chair, York County Community Foundation, 14 West Market Street, York, PA 17401
[office (717) 848-3733] WHartman@YCCF.org
Marilyn Humiston, president, St. Louis Philharmonic, tel (636) 537-0405 (home)
14772 Timberbluff Drive, Chesterfield, MO 63017 [cell (636) 346-3844] marilyn.humiston@vahoo.com
Doug Kenner, board member and violinist, St. Louis Philharmonic, cellphone (314) 330-4169
3615 Olive St #2102, St. Louis, MO 63108 doug@dougkenner.com
Judy Williams, manager, St Charles County Youth Orchestra, cellphone (636) 699-5947 P.O. Box 547, Saint Peters, MO 63376 sccyo@sccyo.org
Karen Wix, former volunteer council member, League of America Orchestras (formerly ASOL)1119 Turnberry Lane, York, PA 17403 (717) 843-0823 (home) kandrwix@comcast.net
Steven Hageman, former executive director, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, tel (828) 254-7046 (work) P.O. Box 2852, Asheville, NC 28802 [cell (828) 275-3027] srhageman@ashevillesymphonv.org
Personal Management: Christopher Ling, CHL Artists, Inc., 13547 Ventura Blvd #192, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-3825; tel (818) 501-0240; e-mail chris@CHLartists.com Testimonials from Daniel Heifetz and Joyce Don viewable on website: www.CHLartists.com
[updated May 2015]
“Conductors like Mr. Baker do not happen every day, unfortunately.”
Christian Science Monitor
“The performances of the evening were all of superior quality.”
The New York Times
“His beat is economical and clear, and he got some splendid playing from the orchestra. The highlight of the evening was a near stupefying performance of Copland’s Organ Symphony--- much better, in fact, than the one extant recording of it [by Leonard Bernstein]”
The New York Daily News
“As Copland wrote it [Symphony for Organ and Orchestra], and these players delivered it, this is a manifesto that all but tears the walls down. It was, in more than one sense, a blast! These people certainly made beautiful music together; it was on the forceful side of beautiful, out of proportion to their numbers or age or anything else.”
The Boston Globe
“Baker is recognized as one of the most promising young conductors in the country.”
The Arts Journal, NC
“Baker is a conductor of economic gesture and clear intentions. He knows exactly what he is after and how to achieve it, keeping an eye on the large design without slighting the details. His own and the orchestra’s abilities were further demonstrated in concise, well-tailored accounts of Wagner’s Rienzi Overture and Schubert’s Symphony No.5.”
Musical America - May 1984
“Baker got the Bach Society Orchestra to make the kind of resonant attacks that one
associates only with a highly sophisticated kind of orchestral technique.”
The Boston Globe
“We are deeply indebted to the orchestra and to its conductor Robert Hart Baker for making available a work [Bloch Symphony in C-sharp minor] that knowledgeable listeners have been clamoring to hear for years. His conception of the piece is quite convincing.”
Fanfare, Vol.9, No.3 - January 1986
“A smooth controlled style of conducting is his strongest talent.”
Chattanooga News-Free Press
“The St. Louis Philharmonic has struck gold in Robert Hart Baker.”
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
“Robert Hart Baker’s stable leadership has transformed the [St. Louis] Philharmonic into an ensemble worthy of a serious listener’s attention...His conducting technique is a model of clarity and precision.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Baker’s conducting technique is a model of clarity and precision. Whatever went on in rehearsal, however, must have really been something to behold.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - March 17, 1986
“The production of La Boheme was in every way a success, with fine performances from New York [City] Opera as well as Asheville filling the hall with uniformly superb Singing. And the Asheville Symphony, under the direction of Robert Hart Baker, fully realized the sparkling beauty of Puccini’s score.”
The Asheville Citizen-Times - January 26, 2000
“Music director Robert Hart Baker demonstrated again that he has the fine ability to give shape to the works he conducts. All of his readings were imaginative and he certainly was successful in getting the players to perform.”
Asheville Citizen-Times
“The Asheville Symphony has strengths everywhere. Chief among them may be its disciplined but highly expressive conductor, whose every tempo seemed perfect.”
The Gaffney Ledger
“Conductor Robert Hart Baker and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra gave one of their finest performances when they played Mahler’s Symphony No.4. Baker and his forces were able to surmount the technical difficulties of the piece with finesse and yet have reserves to deliver the emotional wallop of Mahler’s music to the large audience that seemed quite moved. Baker’s view of the symphony was a spacious one, lingering over the rusticity of the folk-elements but finding tautness for the intense climaxes.”
Asheville Citizen Times - February 11, 1991
“Baker’s thorough immersion in the style and meaning of the work [Mahler’s Symphony No. 2] enabled him to produce a performance that had shape, cogency and spiritual uplift.”
Asheville Citizen-Times
“[Baker] delivered floods of musical excitement in the final ASO concert for the season. Baker paced the performance [of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony] to achieve the maximum rugged strength and electric tension complemented by moments of persuasive warmth and sweetness.”
The Asheville Citizen-Times - April 23, 1990
“Robert Hart Baker glided into his third York Symphony season on strings of silk.”
York Dispatch
Testimonials...
“Your recording of Papa Bloch’s 1st Symphony is GREAT! I hadn’t heard the music since my childhood and the effect was fantastic! All the themes came back and move me each time I listen to the music.”
Lucienne Bloch Dimitreff (daughter of Ernest Bloch) - November 20, 1985
“Robert is a most capable conductor, he is always aware of all the facets of the music making. He has a vast musical and general culture and has a desire and talent for musical research which he successfully incorporates later on in performance.”
Christian Badea (staff conductor) Metropolitan Opera - May 5, 1984
“[Mr. Baker is] a truly wonderful musician. He has warmth and sensitivity, combined with a very good stick technique. His command of the orchestra is excellent and he generates a great deal of respect and enthusiasm from the members.”
Daniel Heifetz (concert violinist) - March 26, 1984
“Baker directs music with passion, pain”
“Nearly 200 years ago, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the music which embodies so much of the passion and pain the world has experienced this past week. Last night, for those who were fortunate enough to have heard the performance of the Beethoven “Fifth Symphony” by the Asheville Symphony under the direction of Robert Hart Baker, numerous facets of that passion and pain were dramatically crystallized. The concert was electrifying from beginning to end but the “Fifth Symphony,” performed as it was with breathtaking but magnificently controlled energy and emotion, served to impart and to encourage an attitude of reasoned, rational passion. The evening’s performance, dedicated to those thousands suffering from this week’s tragedy, was indeed a stunning musical projection of Beethoven’s own resolution: “I will grapple with Fate; it will not overcome me.” Every beat of this music was symbolic of a universal heartbeat quickened by a determination to alleviate pain and suffering throughout the world without being overcome by the struggle. The Asheville Symphony has launched its 2001-2002 season with a renewed and intensely charged musicality. Our gratitude to all involved.”
Asheville Citizen Times - September 20, 2001
Dr. Joyce R. Dorr (former professor and Music Dept. Chair) UNC-Asheville
“On June 12, 2003, I collaborated as violin soloist with Maestro Robert Hart Baker, both as guests, with the Vratza State Philharmonic in Bulgaria. On the program, the “Roman Carnival Overture” of Berlioz, the “Little Violin Concerto” of Tchaikovsky (Serenade Melancolique, Melody in E-flat, and Valse-Scherzo), and the Symphony No.1 of Brahms. We worked together for the dress rehearsal and concert. Working with Maestro Baker and the outstanding, well-prepared orchestra was for me a great joy. Beyond his great earnestness and most intensive internal understanding of the musical processes, the unmistakable sound and the personal style in shaping the musical form impressed in his interpretation of the majestic first symphony of Brahms. I wish for my dear colleague Maestro Baker, whose phenomenal capacities to accompany and whose sensitivity to intentions of musical interpretation in the capricious Tchaikovsky pieces were impressively manifested in sound, much success and artistic fulfillment.”
Professor Vesselin Paraschkevov
Essen Conservatory (Germany)
Former Concertmaster, Vienna Philharmonic