photo: Sam Brewer

Edwin Barker is recognized as one of the most gifted bassists on the American concert scene. Barker graduated with Honors from the New England Conservatory of Music and immediately joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, before being appointed, at age 22, to the position of Principal Bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has held that position for nearly 50 years. Barker’s primary teachers were Peter Mecurio and Henry Portnoi.

Barker has performed as double bass soloist with the Boston Symphony and Boston Symphony Chamber Players at Tanglewood, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and in Europe. Shortly after joining the BSO, Barker was invited to inaugurate the 100th anniversary season of the BSO with a solo performance of the Koussevitzky Bass Concerto; the first time in the history of that organization that a bass concerto soloist has appeared on a Boston Symphony Subscription Series. The Boston Globe reported, “Not only does Edwin Barker have what it takes to lead the Boston Symphony double bass section; in a solo capacity he can make that famously unwieldy instrument bearable, plausible; nay, downright compelling… What class!”

Other solo engagements include appearances at Ozawa Hall (Tanglewood), Carnegie Recital Hall’s “Sweet and Low” Series, as well as concerto performances with the BSO on international tours.

In 2001, Seiji Ozawa invited Edwin Barker to perform Bruch’s Kol Nidre with the Boston Symphony.

“Barker offered the music as prayer, and made of his huge instrument a still, small voice asking eternal questions and responding with timeless answers.” – The Boston Globe.

In 2007, Barker was the premiere soloist with the BSO during the joint World Premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra.  

“There was, and is, nothing Barker cannot do on his chosen ax with grace and beauty, perfect articulation and tone.” – The Boston Musical Intelligencer

“Barker is remarkable: full of temperament, tonally vibrant…” – Gramophone

Edwin Barker’s numerous solo CD recordings include:

Three Sonatas for Double Bass – Boston Records

John Harbison: Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra – Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Three Concertos – GM Recordings

George Perle: Monody II, Fred Lerdahl: Fire and Ice – Bridge Records

James Yunatos: Variations on Solo Bass – Albany Records

As a Professor at Boston University, Barker is internationally recognized as a master of double bass, chamber music, and bass orchestral techniques.

Albums

Basso Profundo

Release Date: July 26, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6609
20th Century
Baroque
Solo Instrumental
Double Bass
Edwin Barker’s playing is described as “timeless,” “vibrant,” and “compelling,” three descriptors that could not be better suited for his recording of J.S. Bach’s Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011 and Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Sonata Op. 108 for solo double bass. Elegantly capturing Bach’s suite in his arrangement for double bass, Barker navigates the challenging and unwieldy passages of the Prelude’s fugue with the same measured and tolerant musicality innate to the immortal tenderness of the Sarabande. Despite a grand leap in time and place, he inspires equal personality — and often spouts of well-placed capriciousness — in Weinberg’s Sonata, honoring the high technical demands of the work while carving out a unique appreciation for Weinberg’s stylistic traditions. BASSO PROFUNDO is a prime example of a master at work, a recording that will surely inspire another extensive list of descriptors risen in Barker’s praise.