This composition by Lauri Porra is a true piece of classical music. He is a virtuoso as a player but even more important is his talent as a composer. There are too many lame attempts to bring pop or rock to classical music but almost always the classical music side is not fully present. Porra masters orchestration brillaintly. His approach is both fresh and building on best traditions. In that sense he is even more talented than Mike Oldfiled who was renewing progressive rock but did not have the same symphonic skill that Porra has. In order to appreaciate his work fully, it is good to know throughly works but Beethoven, Shostakovish, Schnittke and others.
The fact that it started with pedal delay noise kinda threw me off, and I was ready for another gimmicky stab at fusing rock and classical stylings. But this excels at everything a concerto should do - feature the composer's ability to blend an instrument with an orchestra without letting either one fall to the wayside, and showcase the versatility of the solo instrument. The orchestration is wonderfully done, very reminiscent of Finnish composers from his great-grandfather Jean Sibelius, to Kalevi Aho, one of my current favorites. Additionally, he showcases his facility for fingerstyle, slapping, and the use of a pick. Say what you will about either technique, he used each one in a manner that worked very well for the desired setting. One of the challenges with writing for an instrument that has an extremely high or low register is blending with the ensemble. Fortunately the consistent tone across the range of the bass (as opposed to the tuba or contrabassoon, which can sound strained and nasally in the upper register) makes this slightly less of a problem, but instead, he has posed another: blending an electric instrument WITH effects against an orchestra. Despite the use of distortion, chorus, a filter, and delay, there was never a point where I thought "okay, that's just too much" - as a matter of fact, his use of orchestration masterfully highlights the different effects, and places them in a completely new context. As a classically trained hornist/composer who happens to be pretty good at bass guitar, I literally don't have enough wonderful things to say about this piece. I guess I just wish it was longer, but 30 minutes is a quite respectable concerto length :P
I have never heard any other serious classical pieces that featured an electric bass guitar as a solo instrument. This is magnificent. It really shows the versatility and power of classical music. The bass guitar fits the orchestra so we'll. This composition is just great.
This guy can sure play the bass, despite the criticisms from what seem like other, jealous bassists, but that's another story. What surprised me wasn't the level of bass playing, but the seriously well-done Orchestration, with a sound that I believe his great great grandfather would have appreciated. The work for the brass section is tremendous.
Stunning! Until today I never heard from Lauri Porra and just saw a tiny exerpt of a few seconds from this concert in the TV and knew immediately I found a gem. I looked this up here in TH-cam and enjoyed every note of this video. Great composition and great performed!
out of context 23:07 looks pretty funny as if he might be a little out of place... but in all seriousness this is a very unique and imaginative concerto! thank you for introducing me to Lauri Porra's music
lauri porra's mid is amazing wooow lauri is the god of bass, it's a very wonderful mix of classical music and the style of lauri, all his musician works are amazing :)
This concerto celebrate finnish independence-day very nice...this is awesome ! Lauri Porra is next finnish musician what we need in finland and other world (after Pekka Pohjola) in this category of music. This reminds me Mike Oldfield's "Music of the Spheres-album" very much, but Mike plays acoustic guitar on that. *_-
a lot of nay sayers here, but I found this fantastic. Lauri has been surprising me since the day I saw him with Stratovarius and he stuck out like a sore thumb, to each new solo album that he produces. I think this song loses something in the live performance, Lauri seems to be using more effects on his tone to make the bass stand out around the orchestra. The album version has a much more appropriate bass tone for the song. I'm just glad he didn't do what most rock musicians do when they work with a symphony and create a pedestrian orchestration to fit a standard rock song.
What's the name of the orchestra? Wonder if they would wanna perform my piece Metallic Fantasy for elec.gtr., elec. bass, synthesizer, drums and orchestra.
I don't know what to say. On the one hand, hey, it's a concerto for electric bass. I'm all for expanding the boundaries of what the electric can do, putting it in all sorts of contexts. The piece is overall not bad. But at times the bass does seem out of place. Also, his tone is too clangy. A more rounded, smoother tone would've gelled better with the orchestra. But I can't knock him for trying. I'm an experimenter myself.
I agree about the tone, but overall I was impressed that it was an actual concerto. Usually when people try to fuse rock with symphonic music it's just the symphony being dumbed down to fit a simple rock structure. This was the exact opposite in my opinion.
He’s a pretty awesome rock fusion bassist. I can’t say the same about this composition. It’s like a Jimi Hendrix sound/noisescape in parts, then in other parts it’s like he’s playing rhythm and channeling Billy Sheehan’s bass licks.
a ver, que si no lo digo reviento! uno de mis sonidos favoritos es el del bajo eléctrico pero en esta pieza no lo encuentro necesario en absoluto. intentad escucharlo ignorando al bajista y veréis que sobra completamente.
This concerto has it's moments and has such nice ideas, but he is eventually killing his themas. It's style, developement and material is in many parts all over the place. He sure is talented but is not there yet to write a serious full scale concerto.
So much possibility here. Unfortunately, instead of elevating the electric bass to a more dignified position, he brought the orchestra into the gutter. He has some skills but there's much reliance on cheap tricks and hackneyed licks. Too much fusing with that stupid pedal board. And gezzus, use a proper instrument, not one with childish stickers all over it.
jvanegas14 Have an open mind to shlock? Don't be an idiot. By the way, I've done plenty of combining of classical with electric instruments right here on TH-cam. Feel free to say how much it sucks.
Some interesting moments, but it made me cringe far more often than not. The bass just made it worse most of the time, so it totally fails as an electric bass concerto. Only my opinion, of course. It seems others in the comments think highly of it, but it's not for me.
This is such a piss-poor and forgettable piece that it is safe to say the doors are wide open for a well-written (and well-conceived, which this on Is Not) concerto for bass guitar and orchestra.
6:06
The lick
I love and hate you for pointing that out
I tell you, if I were at this performance at that moment, I would have been ejected from the audience for laughing louder than the orchestra.
This composition by Lauri Porra is a true piece of classical music. He is a virtuoso as a player but even more important is his talent as a composer. There are too many lame attempts to bring pop or rock to classical music but almost always the classical music side is not fully present. Porra masters orchestration brillaintly. His approach is both fresh and building on best traditions. In that sense he is even more talented than Mike Oldfiled who was renewing progressive rock but did not have the same symphonic skill that Porra has. In order to appreaciate his work fully, it is good to know throughly works but Beethoven, Shostakovish, Schnittke and others.
The fact that it started with pedal delay noise kinda threw me off, and I was ready for another gimmicky stab at fusing rock and classical stylings. But this excels at everything a concerto should do - feature the composer's ability to blend an instrument with an orchestra without letting either one fall to the wayside, and showcase the versatility of the solo instrument. The orchestration is wonderfully done, very reminiscent of Finnish composers from his great-grandfather Jean Sibelius, to Kalevi Aho, one of my current favorites. Additionally, he showcases his facility for fingerstyle, slapping, and the use of a pick. Say what you will about either technique, he used each one in a manner that worked very well for the desired setting.
One of the challenges with writing for an instrument that has an extremely high or low register is blending with the ensemble. Fortunately the consistent tone across the range of the bass (as opposed to the tuba or contrabassoon, which can sound strained and nasally in the upper register) makes this slightly less of a problem, but instead, he has posed another: blending an electric instrument WITH effects against an orchestra. Despite the use of distortion, chorus, a filter, and delay, there was never a point where I thought "okay, that's just too much" - as a matter of fact, his use of orchestration masterfully highlights the different effects, and places them in a completely new context.
As a classically trained hornist/composer who happens to be pretty good at bass guitar, I literally don't have enough wonderful things to say about this piece. I guess I just wish it was longer, but 30 minutes is a quite respectable concerto length :P
Thank you for the analysis.
Thank you, you explained this in a way I understand
What a wonderful encore: The perfect tribute to his great-grandfather, the legendary Jean Sibelius...
I have never heard any other serious classical pieces that featured an electric bass guitar as a solo instrument. This is magnificent. It really shows the versatility and power of classical music. The bass guitar fits the orchestra so we'll. This composition is just great.
The first time I've heard of Lauri Porra. Now will definitely check out his work.
This guy can sure play the bass, despite the criticisms from what seem like other, jealous bassists, but that's another story. What surprised me wasn't the level of bass playing, but the seriously well-done Orchestration, with a sound that I believe his great great grandfather would have appreciated. The work for the brass section is tremendous.
Stunning! Until today I never heard from Lauri Porra and just saw a tiny exerpt of a few seconds from this concert in the TV and knew immediately I found a gem. I looked this up here in TH-cam and enjoyed every note of this video. Great composition and great performed!
The section from 24:40 - 30:50 is lyrical with expressive harmony
10:43 this sends chills down my spine
14:56 also props for that violin solo
Thank you so much =) !
Saben donde puedo encontrar las partituras de este concierto?
Sería de mucha ayuda si me pueden decir donde estan
Muchas gracias
out of context 23:07 looks pretty funny as if he might be a little out of place... but in all seriousness this is a very unique and imaginative concerto! thank you for introducing me to Lauri Porra's music
RAro e interesante
lauri porra's mid is amazing
wooow lauri is the god of bass, it's a very wonderful mix of classical music and the style of lauri, all his musician works are amazing :)
That version of Finlandia as an encore is gorgeous.
In which year was this concerto composed?
Best finnish bassist
Kiitos! спасибо! Lauri Porra is a genius. Lauri Porra это гений.
Beautiful!
This is delightful.
What is the name of thé bassist ?
Lauri Porra
Fantastic!
This concerto celebrate finnish independence-day very nice...this is awesome ! Lauri Porra is next finnish musician what we need in finland and other world (after Pekka Pohjola) in this category of music. This reminds me Mike Oldfield's "Music of the Spheres-album" very much, but Mike plays acoustic guitar on that. *_-
Hi does anybody know what kind of amp is Lauri porra using there? Thanks!
Probs a MarkBass amp judging by the yellow cone
Damn, waluigi sure is good at bass
AHHHH, it even has a WAAA effect!!!!
bravo !
2:10 "You guys are in for a treat."
Bueno, Estoy en el minuto 25:00 y estoy llorando como un bebe. ❤️ No sé qué decir.
6:05
a lot of nay sayers here, but I found this fantastic. Lauri has been surprising me since the day I saw him with Stratovarius and he stuck out like a sore thumb, to each new solo album that he produces. I think this song loses something in the live performance, Lauri seems to be using more effects on his tone to make the bass stand out around the orchestra. The album version has a much more appropriate bass tone for the song. I'm just glad he didn't do what most rock musicians do when they work with a symphony and create a pedestrian orchestration to fit a standard rock song.
What's the name of the orchestra? Wonder if they would wanna perform my piece Metallic Fantasy for elec.gtr., elec. bass, synthesizer, drums and orchestra.
Lahti Symphony Orchestra from Lahti, Finland. Their concert hall is stunning.
Is there a study score for this available anywhere?
no :( Lauri please if you read this give us one
I don't know what to say. On the one hand, hey, it's a concerto for electric bass. I'm all for expanding the boundaries of what the electric can do, putting it in all sorts of contexts. The piece is overall not bad. But at times the bass does seem out of place. Also, his tone is too clangy. A more rounded, smoother tone would've gelled better with the orchestra.
But I can't knock him for trying. I'm an experimenter myself.
I agree about the tone, but overall I was impressed that it was an actual concerto. Usually when people try to fuse rock with symphonic music it's just the symphony being dumbed down to fit a simple rock structure. This was the exact opposite in my opinion.
He’s a pretty awesome rock fusion bassist. I can’t say the same about this composition. It’s like a Jimi Hendrix sound/noisescape in parts, then in other parts it’s like he’s playing rhythm and channeling Billy Sheehan’s bass licks.
a ver, que si no lo digo reviento! uno de mis sonidos favoritos es el del bajo eléctrico pero en esta pieza no lo encuentro necesario en absoluto. intentad escucharlo ignorando al bajista y veréis que sobra completamente.
This concerto has it's moments and has such nice ideas, but he is eventually killing his themas. It's style, developement and material is in many parts all over the place. He sure is talented but is not there yet to write a serious full scale concerto.
Copying Magnus Rosen .
So much possibility here. Unfortunately, instead of elevating the electric bass to a more dignified position, he brought the orchestra into the gutter. He has some skills but there's much reliance on cheap tricks and hackneyed licks. Too much fusing with that stupid pedal board. And gezzus, use a proper instrument, not one with childish stickers all over it.
jvanegas14 Have an open mind to shlock? Don't be an idiot. By the way, I've done plenty of combining of classical with electric instruments right here on TH-cam. Feel free to say how much it sucks.
You are a dumbass
Music major here and you're an idiot.
I love how someone could get offended by stickers on a bass
Simo Vepsä I love how someone can get offended by the concept of standards
Some interesting moments, but it made me cringe far more often than not. The bass just made it worse most of the time, so it totally fails as an electric bass concerto. Only my opinion, of course. It seems others in the comments think highly of it, but it's not for me.
there's an album release with much better audio. doubt it would change your mind, but this version the bass doesn't mix in as well
This is such a piss-poor and forgettable piece that it is safe to say the doors are wide open for a well-written (and well-conceived, which this on Is Not) concerto for bass guitar and orchestra.