Roland Baumgartner was the first composer of the western world able to realize a co-production between the two opposing powers, the USSR, as it was then, and the USA.
The high-budget production of Ali Baba, a ballet film starring solo dancers of the Atlanta Ballet and the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet, was sponsored by Coca Cola. The libretto for this piece was written by Mariana Shevardnadze, daughter of Edward Shevardnadze who was then Soviet Foreign Minister.
In 1991 “Musical Sisi” it was composed with the aim of creating the quintessential European musical combining international music styles. By blending Viennese elements with rock-symphonic instrumentation, the highly successful musical Sisi – Her Majesty of Beauty came into being. As in the composition of Bernstein's West Side Story, the musical was re-written multiple times to hone it to perfection. The musical runs in Europe since 1998 and is probably—in the history of musicals—the first European opus of its kind that is internationally successful.
Meanwhile, Roland Baumgartner has composed other musicals, such as Wintergarten which premièred in 1999.
A German tour in the spring of 1994 under the name of Movie Classics, with the Russian Bolshoi Symphonic Orchestra accompanying the singer-performer Margot Werner became a roaring success. Roland Baumgartner arranged all song titles for the diva and conducted the orchestra during the entire tour (sold out solid) as well as for the CD of the same name.
In the spring of 1994, Roland Baumgartner produced the title song CRY (performed by Jennifer Rush) for the German TV serial Die Gerichtsreporterin (The Court Reporter) run on the ARD, the first German state TV program. He also composed the film music for all of its 13 sequels.
In August of 1994, the Missa Pacis was presented by Karin Schnabel in Bonn. The concert was recorded by the German radio station Deutsche Welle and broadcast via satellite into 38 countries worldwide. More than 50 embassies supported this event.
In September of 1995, the peace symphony Missa Pacis was presented at the annual music festival "Linzer Klangwolke" in Austria. For this event, the opus was newly edited in coordination with the Brucknerhaus Linz and the ORF, and staged in an unforgettable visual sound and light show for an audience of 70 000 people. Quote by Director Karl Gerbel of the Brucknerhaus Linz: "The time has come for the Missa Pacis!".
In September of 1996, Roland Baumgartner's nature symphony, Symphonic Globalis, was presented at that year's "Linzer Klangwolke" to an audience of 95 000 people (reported by the ORF, the Austrian national Radio and TV program). This symphony is dedicated to David McTaggart, founder of the Greenpeace movement, who was present at the première in Linz.
On 23 April, 1997, in Vienna, and on 24 April at the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra performed for the first time a specially commissioned composition by Roland Baumgartner to commemorate its 50-years anniversary.
1998 The symphonic version of his Musical “Excalibur” was presented to an audience of 10.000 people in an open air event with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna and the singer from the Band Toto “Bobby Cimbal”
In the summer of 1999, the musical Wintergarten was produced for the "Theatre Summer" in the Austrian town of Haugsdorf, starring Aniko Benkö.<br>
“Ayrton Senna” The Formular 1 Musical
In September and October of 1999, as well as in 2000, the newly opened "Theater- und Kongresshaus" in the Austrian spa of Bad Ischl ran the musical Sisi – Her Majesty of Beauty in commemoration of the 101-year anniversary of the tragic assassination of the famous Habsburg empress.
2000 The Musical Sisi was performed at the famous “Prinzregententheater” in Munich.
Since 10 years, Roland Baumgartner is working for the largest soundtrack library of the world, and his oeuvre is used for training specialists of various TV stations.
Present
2012: World-Premiere of the opera "Maria Theresa" on 11th October in the Slovak National Opera Bratislava of “Maria Theresia”
2012: Premiere of "Maria Theresia Variations", a piano solo dedicated to the Online Academy for classical Music of Lions Club Vienna Mozart, performed by international pianist Victor Goldberg on March 10, 2012 in Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna.
2011: 4th of March World Premier of the Opera “Hoffmann’s Welt” in Germany, a huge public success (Theater Hof, E.T.A Hoffmann theater in Bamberg and Opera house Bayreuth)
2010: 4th of November Symphonic Film concert with compositions of Williams and Baumgartner in the new Opera house in Bratislava
2010: World Premier of the Neoromantic Opera “Luther” in Germany
2009: Premier of the Children Musical for the summer Festival in Austria
2004 George Foreman Opera
“The House of Dreams” an Opera about the famous Austrian Painter “Friedens Reich Hundertwasser”.
Roland Baumgartner's works have appeared on more than 120 CDs in over 40 countries. His catalog registers more than 3600 compositions at present.
2002 Opera Mystica
2001 Production of the George Foreman project “Let us live” with Ramon Vargas and the “Vienna Boys–choir”