[{"text_idx": "#000014", "text": "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 \u2018State of the Nation\u2019 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 Te\u0301le\u0301maque, Marseille. All of these works \u2013 and others \u2013 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."}, {"text_idx": "#000015", "text": "Mae Richard Baker yn gyfansoddwr o Geredigion. Mae ei waith trawiadol yn ymwneud yn aml a\u0302 thrawsgrifio a thrawsnewid deunydd all-gerddorol, gan fod wedi\u2019i nodweddu gan glust dethol ar gyfer harmoni a lliw offerynnol, ynghyd a\u0302 rhethreg feiddgar sy\u2019n aml yn peri syndod. Yn ei yrfa mae hefyd wedi gwneud enw iddo\u2019i hun fel arweinydd poblogaidd cerddoriaeth gyfoes ac opera, mae wedi dal ati i gynyrchu allbwn cyson o weithiau sylweddol sy\u2019n procio\u2019r meddwl. Ymhlith y cerrig milltir mae: Learning to Fly (1999), y gwaith a ddaeth a\u0302\u2019i enw i sylw gyntaf pan gafodd ei gyflwyno gan y London Sinfonietta yn eu gw\u0302yl \u2018State of the Nation\u2019; The Tyranny of Fun (2013) comisiwn ar gyfer Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (ac wedi\u2019i enwebu ar gyfer Gwobr Cyfansoddi ar Raddfa Siambr y Gymdeithas Ffilharmonig Frenhinol); The Price of Curiosity (2019), comisiwn ar gyfer Cerddorfa Symffoni\u2019r BBC/Radio 3; a Motet II (2020), comisiwn ar gyfer Ensemble Te\u0301le\u0301maque, Marseille. Bydd yr holl weithiau hyn \u2013 ac eraill \u2013 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."}]