You may hear Julius Baker performing Antonio Vivaldi's Flute-Bassoon Concerto in G Minor with Karl Hoffmann, bassoon and Antonio Janigro conducting Solisti de Zagreb in 1964 Here
Julius Baker (September 23, 1915 – August 6, 2003) was one of the foremost American orchestral flute players. During the course of five decades he concertized with several of America's premier orchestral ensembles including the Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.[1][2]
Baker loved chamber music and was one of the founding members of the Bach Aria Group, with whom he played from 1946 to 1964.[12][13][14][15] Baker also performed on several notable film scores, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Lovesick. In addition, he appeared opposite violinist Oscar Shumsky in filming Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, with pianist and conductor Glenn Gould for CBC Television.[16] Baker also collaborated with Glenn Gould, the violinist Rafael Druian and members of the New York Philharmonic in a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049.[17]
Baker gave the first American performance with orchestra of the Ibert Flute Concerto in 1948 with the CBS Symphony under the direction of Alfredo Antonini for Voice of America, and that concert was later issued on his own label, Oxford Records.[19] Baker also collaborated with his friend John Serry, Sr. during his tenure at CBS and produced a demonstration recording in 1951 of Mr. Serry's compositions for flute and accordion entitled La Culebra and Desert Rumba, both of which were dedicated to Baker.[20][21][22][23][24]
Baker retired from the New York Philharmonic in 1983 in order to devote himself to playing recitals programs and concertos around the United States, Europe and Asia.[2]
In 1997 and 1999 he was jury member at the International Flute Competition "Leonardo De Lorenzo", held every two years in Viggiano, Italy.[25]
Baker was also an electronics buff and amateur ham radio operator. He built audio equipment upon which he taped his early solo recordings. The Flute Talk article explained, "His interest in electronics developed into The Oxford Recording Company, a mail-order business he ran out of his home and which produced five of his flute recordings between 1946 and 1951.
Notable pupils
External videos
You may see Julius Baker performing with Glenn Gould in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 for the CBC Television documentary "Glenn Gould on Bach" in 1962 Here on bing.com
Photograph of Julius Baker recording with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra in 1948 Here on Getty Images.co.nz
Jeanne Baxtresser, who succeeded him as principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic and recently retired to devote herself to teaching at Carnegie Mellon School of Music
The Julius Baker Collection at the Juilliard School of Music Peter J. Sharp Special Collections contains Baker's collection of 1,900 published scores and 275 manuscript scores.[28]
^"Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: Centennial Edition". Slonimsky, Nicholas editor. Schirmer Books, New York NY, 2001. Vol.1 pg. 188 ISBN 0-02-865526-5
^"Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: Centennial Edition". Slonimsky, Nicholas editor. Schirmer Books, New york NY, 2001. Vol.1 pg. 188 ISBN 0-02-865526-5
