Mason Bates - YouTube Symphony Orchestra

[JJBRMusic]

The Portland Symphony Orchestra played this piece a few weeks back, God it was amazing :D

[jeffbrak]

Metronomic shite.

[rydubz7]

I think this piece is absurd . Mason Bates writing is well i didnt want to sound mean but cheesy . To put a house beat over the symphony orchestra is aesthetically illogical .Yes electronics are now open game in the orchestra(some) But bates doesn't even begin to tap into the potential .Listen to Edmund Campion ,Mason Bates Teacher .He specializes In this . Doesnt sound like a house beat over film music strings . Anyone reading this check out 21st cen masters . Rouse , Adams, David Lang, Kernis.

[solidus927]

It's like watching a movie music composition happening in real time. Editing and adding special synth to a soundtrack to give it that futuristic sound on the fly is not easy.. danm its not easy!!

[nestletreb]

There's a lot of potential here. As someone who appreciates Autechre, Stravinsky, Miles Davis and Stockhausen alike, I'm left wanting more exploration and less film-score grooving.

I'm a drummer - I love grooving. Grooving is great. This just feels super tame - weak beats and weak development. I remember thinking the same thing after the MusicNow concert.

Whatever - keep doing what you love, but your accolades seem undeserved from this showing.

[manderson4166]

I watched the CSO play this a couple days ago it was pretty sick

[oddgobompin]

@manderson4166

I was there, too! It was amazing!

[Tkuzie]

@manderson4166

so did I! It was an AMAZING concert! My mom who didn't want to go to it, hasn't stopped talking about it!

[Tetsuoha]

This is rubbish

[Probieboss]

Also, is it just me or does the electronica in this seem REALLY loud?

[Probieboss]

Mothership is better. Although this is my first time hearing Warehouse medicine in full...And I'm impressed :)

[juleszey]

You are AMAZING! Ever since I have discovered your talent and blending of sound waves with orchestral music, I've been profoundly moved by you. I love techno, house, salsa, r & b, jazz, gospel, and classical just to name a few genres.

I have always loved beats and sounds that could fill a room with vibration ever since I can remember. Having had classical piano training, I can completely appreciate the blending of the two and thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

[QuantikMusic]

After reading some of the ignorant and elitist comments on this video i believe some people should have their right to post comments removed. An obvious exaggeration but really, if you want to have you opinion go for it. If you want to flame and attack the video because you don't agree with it or like it, please for the sake of everyone jump of a cliff.

[Iacorel]

Now I can't see his achievement there. Seriously, wht he's doing ahrdly takes any skill. Ask any decent percissionist or drummer, they can do easily wht he's doing there. It's just a little bit of rythmic feeling made "cool" with lots of technic! And it leads to us not really appreciating real skill anymore.

[MiniMega57]

is he play taptap revenge there?

[Enlimdr]

Luckily I'll be hearing the whole piece in Toronto 5/3/11 --- with a John Adams and a Kulesha -- on saturday. We all need more modern and less of the same ole same ole......... as much as I love that too.

[JazzySnazzy09]

Mason Bates is the coolest person I've ever met. I played his Rusty Air in Carolina for the 2010 Texas All-State band where he did the synth accompaniment, and he was amazing! So much fun to work with. Mason Bates is a genius.

[jillykobilly]

What is that cool mini grand piano thing behind him? I want to hear THAT.

[Enzoketes2008]

All, all, all, ALL an orchestra for accompanying what? It´s ridiculous!!! 

[travgabr]

How much you paid for this nonsense ? 

[Calliope222]

I like the concept a lot--complex electronica, with its "layering," can be likened to classical composing--but Bates doesn't do enough with this piece to make the synths seem like much but accompaniment that doesn't need to be there, at least in the first half. I wish he had used a more exciting or varied drum sample. Some of the music I find pretty and interesting, but...I'm just not sure. The concept, though, is sound.

[bustthewave]

@Calliope222 It's hard to say, but I bet if you were there the bass would be tearing through you in an epic fusion with the classical. That's where electronica really shines, is in those lower ends that seem to vibrate your soul (or at least your intestines).

I'd imagine that this recording, and your speakers just can't pick up those lows.

[undekegamisou]

omg wtf

[edgardomoreno]

he needs a higher table. would be nice to see more sound used by Mason. i mean just a drum sound? interesting orchestration though.

[BachaBachaNinja]

I'm not sure if I like this piece. The orchestration of the symphony was more exciting than the unusual electronic sounds he added.

[videowebbari]

Come diceva Rossini, c'è del buono e c'è del nuovo in questo pezzo, solo che ciò che è buono non è nuovo e ciò che è nuovo non è buono.

Mi sa che qui non c'è proprio nulla....nemmeno l'autore del pezzo che non riesce ad andare a tempo con il campionatore !

[travgabr]

@videowebbari

La verita' e' che ha pagato parecchio e quindi tutto si puo' fare .

Succede anche in Italia .

[Shadowravermiguel1]

Minimal Is slow as fuck, as electronic music goes!

[feedyourheads]

He's a babe.

[JazzySnazzy09]

@starofthewesttuba Haha, yeah, Shoutout wasn't to fun for the clarinet part, but I liked it. we actually played really good music. The Persichetti was great too. Did you get the CD? I never got around to ordering it, haha.

[JazzySnazzy09]

I got the opportunity to play with Mason Bates. My God, it was the most fantastic experience of my life. We played Rusty Air in Carolina for the 2010 Texas All-State concert. It's such a fantastic piece. I hope to get the opportunity to play with him again.

[starofthewesttuba]

He worked with my all-state group this year and even told us he knows nothing about our instruments. That's why the parts were bad and nearly everyone hated it.

[80FrontStreet]

@starofthewesttuba he originally played piano. many composers who write out of their element occasionally will write something that is impractical for the instruments that they do not know as well.

[JazzySnazzy09]

@starofthewesttuba Texas All-State 2010 Symphonic Band? I was there too! Haha, I loved the piece personally. That and Aurora Awakes.

[starofthewesttuba]

@JazzySnazzy09 eehhhh i liked aurora awakes and shoutout! those were my favorite

[iLikeShrimpiesss]

good thing mason bates is an awesome composer so it doesn't really matter. He enjoys the experience of combining electronics with classical music

[trumpetdudeman07]

i bet apple got all kinds of endorsements for being on his computer....sad really...

I can dig his sound...it's a good composition. I don't think it was meant to be virtuosic in any manner...but it's a new sound. I'll give him 5 stars for creativity.

[FusionSummit]

I think everyone is reacting exactly the way they should be. THINK about it. Remember your music history classes, my friends.

When beety or Debussy introduced their techniques.. NOBODY liked it. Nobody wanted to hear (in Beety's time) that complex arrangement of chords or virtuoso technical mastery. When the 20th century came around, there were riots (a.k.a. Rite of Spring, anyone?)

SO. I ask you. Don't you see where this is going? In 50 years, music like this will be the norm in rep. Probably

[hcpf2009]

Sure. I don't doubt that in principle. What I doubt is whether MB's music will be in that canon. Or at least this piece. Stravinsky wasn't the only one who introduced the rhythmic, harmonic and orchestrational innovations to music in his era. But his music rose above all. Because it was good. I think there are better composers doing similar things but are better than MB. That's all.

[FusionSummit]

And, that's completely acceptable. :) I would definitely like to hear some names, since I love this style and I don't have much to go off of except Bates.

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

[ankarbass]

It's not "new", it's a dull and boring 4/4 beat over an uninspiring orchestral piece.  We aren't criticising it because we think that it's blasphemy to play dul beats with orchestral music, we're criticizing it because it's simply dull.

[TheMrDobbins]

wtf is this shit? i was waiting for him to bash away at the toy piano

[phillipedge1]

When I read that using a digital instrument along side acoustic ones as in this example and comparing this to a violin or piano is absurd. It takes years of practice and talent to learn a Bach Partita or a Beethoven piano sonata. This vid is somethng any high school kid with a computer and some software and hardware could do. Relatively speaking it doesn't require that much talent. I also don't see him doing anything an acoustic performer couldn't do better. Gimmicky attention getter.

[link090909]

Are you listening to this? He's a legit composer that uses electronic instruments alongside acoustic ones. Have you ever heard any of his acoustic stuff? Are you going to try and learn all the facts before trying to make an educated criticism? There's a reason he is a composer in residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There is a reson he has won several prestigious accolades from BMI and ASCAP. He studied with SAMUEL ADLER at Juliard. And he's only 32! You try doing what he has!

[phillipedge1]

first of all I'm only commenting on this specific piece, not any other piece and my comments stand. Second, compared to Nono, Davidovsky, or Subotnick's use of electronics (digital or not) this piece is lame. As far as awards you can fill a football stadium with award winning composers, I know a few myself who are way better than this. So what?

[hcpf2009]

Actually...he studied with John Corigliano. I listened to this again, just in case I judged it too harshly on first listen. I'm sticking with my initial thoughts. It sounds like a 3rd movement of  John Adams piece without any of the originality or harmonic interest. The electronics doesn't hold a candle to either the names philipedge names OR even more popular electronic/trance artists.

So there.

[hcpf2009]

This sounds like second-rate John Adams (who's actually a good composer) layered with some rather uninteresting beats. If you want an original take of techno/trance imitation for the orchestra, listen to Ades' Asyla.

[mhamling88]

Seriously, this guy is just banging out crummy beats while his orchestra struggles to ignore his poor rhythm. I keep an open mind about music but this is crap.

[LawnGnom1]

i just hugged mason bates last night at a chanticleer concert!!!!

[zzzap78]

What about a guy who bangs away on a bowl with something strapped over the opening? Or blowing air into a wooden or metal tube with some holes drilled into it? Or even a funny looking wooden structure with some metal strings attached to it?

If you think of an "instrument" as a drum, clarinet or a violin then you are too conservative. Computer instruments as this tapping thing is just as good an INSTRUMENT as anything else, and the operator as much of an artist as a violin player or guitarist

[ziggidzack]

ankarbass pretty much said it all....

[ankarbass]

He appears to simply be smacking on an akai mpd-24 with very bad timing while the orchestra does all the work. IMNSHO, his contribution to the performance is crap. I think that there are plenty of opportunities for electronic sounds in orchestral music but this just completely fails to be interesting.

[attydog]

he wrote the piece numbnuts. how's that for a contribution?

[ankarbass]

I said to 'the performance", not to the arrangement or composition. Perhaps you should hone your reading comprehension skills prior to referring to others as a "numbnuts." As far as the "composition" goes, however, I don't particularly care how good or bad it is, I find it dull and uninteresting and there is nothing at all interesting here from an "electronic" perspective.

[tubafatness]

To ankarbass:

As far as the timing goes, I wouldn't go with the sound on this clip. It sounds like the orchestra was mic-ed a lot closer than the electronic sounds were, so that is more than likely the cause of the lag. And even so, it's not that bad.

[ankarbass]

So the recording is also crap. Even if the sounds were being played in time, that does not change the fact that his contribution to the performance is little more than smacking on a drumpad. I also don't believe that the micing is the issue. You can see the overhead mics over parts of the orchestra and I suspect that the MOTU interface on his desk is either feeding the board directly or driving whatever he is using to monitor which would also be picked up by the overheads.

[tegrawey]

@ankarbass It's called minimalism. It's a style of music

[ankarbass]

@tegrawey This is not mimimal and, IMNSHO, it's not good either. I'm well aware of what makes for good minimal 4/4 music and this is not it.

[nitrocircuskid]

I totsally don not get this gu

[bdvet]

bad ass...

[erciasico]

i enjoyed listening to this song. brilliant composer.

[D0ug16]

I'm somewhat unclear of what he's actually doing in this video. I see he's tapping at something, and I hear periodic electronic sounds -- but I don't fully understand it.

[LLJtbone]

This is pretty interesting sounding. I'd rather be playing the music but it's still cool to listen too.

[DannyDaWriter]

I quite like this — as someone who favours the introduction of electronics in concert music (such as that promoted by IRCAM and composers such as Varese and Messiaen), this was quite enjoyable to watch.

[ymanganelli]

I like it... sounds good:)

[ethanjhayward]

Electronics or no electronics, it's really quite wonderful music Mason Bates has composed here. Very lively and harmonically vibrant.

[demiseofthecrown]

FUCK THIS SHIT. No computer should ever belong in a symphony, what an insult to the music and fuck you and this idea of evolution, not like this my freind.

[HolyKatana]

Oh, yes, what a fantastic idea! Let's just use acoustic instruments in classical music, because they're clearly superior to the soulless electronic instruments of today! Let's spit in the face of progress and limit our timbral repertory to only a finite number of sounds, only because the vast majority of them are only able to be produced electronically!

[DannyDaWriter]

Hey; Varese, Messiaen, Jolivet, Riley, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Ligeti, Glass, Boulez, Babbit, Schnittke, and Shostakovich would like to have a word with you.

[MusicaRicercata]

What about Pierre Schaeffer?

[1026chai]

I like this one! So I replied to it! U are damn right about all of the above are going to ave a word with this guy! What he is doing with that thing on stage?

[aksorip]

i was there wednesday too. it was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. this was definitely the highlight of the entire program. no words left, amazing job. Mason Bates rules.

[blackzarg]

Wow! I just got out of the SF Concert in Davis and I was absolutely amazed at the B-Sides!! I typically don't really like avant-garde, electronic music, but this has brought me back! It was full of delicious harmonies and fantastic rhythms - the perfect balance of orchestra and electronica! Great job, Mr. Bates! I'm currently a music student and will definitely follow you for inspiration.

[Krissyrose17]

I just went to that concert too! it was amazing. so inspirational and clever!

[power9pro]

this is great. everyone saying otherwise just doesn't know wtf they're talking about. you don't!! (bozos)

[UKFS]

What a talentless BOZO; this is utter nonsense! Why would anyone pay for a guaranteed headache...? My wife and I have tickets to a show here in SF this Wednesday, where, sadly, this buffoon will be "performing" --- he is going to ruin an otherwise much anticipated fun night out on the town. We're bummed, to say the least! Hey Bates, you're better suited for a rusty rave club, NOT Davies Symphony Hall. Out of your league, mate. May I start "Booooing" you now...?

[tubafatness]

I have to ask though, what is it about Davies Symphony Hall that requires only "serious" music to be played? Does it have "serious" walls and seats?

[beateralex]

Orchestra & DJ. It's amazing. An excellent combination

[malekka]

The idea is terrific! Simply adorable. But can you please make the videos' sound louder?

thanks in advance!

[tyrelroo]

That's... I'm sorry, I think it's extremely cheesy.

[KryXoXoXoMoon]

Awsome!!!!!!!

[ethanjhayward]

(continued)

Traditionalism in the orchestral domain is a myth. It just happens that the vast majority of symphonic repertoire comes from periods where electronic instrumentation was not available. Now that it is available, its legitimacy is just as valid as acoustic instrumentation.

[IntrapersonalKent]

@ethanjhayward bless your edifying perspective.

[QuantikMusic]

@ethanjhayward That is one of the best comments i have ever read. So true.

[ethanjhayward]

Bach wrote for harpsichord, because that was the technology available for him at the time. Beethoven wrote for piano because that was available. Nowadays, new technology is available and composers take advantage of that, just as composers did in the 17th-20th centuries. (continued)

[HolyKatana]

Exactly. Why not write for synth? The timbral possibilities are endless! Anyone who says synths and drum machines don't belong in classical music is just a reactionary living in a fantasy world, where the "classical masters," who, of course, all wrote music before 1900, were just as backward-thinking as they. I'm positive that Beethoven, if he were alive today, would embrace the synthesizer, and use it to its full potential.

[DannyDaWriter]

I could just imagine what Beethoven would write had he been given access to the synthesizer!

[sstuddert]

I wonder what he would of even thought of the synthesizer.

[doogiedog1234]

@HolyKatana If Beethoven was alive today hed be producing music for all the big stars. Thats were al lthe musical talent goes these days because thats were all the money and fame is.

[david3494]

Using digital instruments is an insult to the orchestra. The only thing that distinguishes an orchestra from a computer is that fact that only people can play musical instruments.  His guy who's triggering beats on his computer could very well just record everything and not even be present.

[Muzicudnerfire]

But, as you can see, he is very much actively engaging in the music making process. As you said, he triggers sounds from his instrument (the Laptop) just as you would a flute or violin. The means of the initiation of sound are VERY different between the flute and violin, just as they are from the Laptop. It is an instrument. You can see him looking from music, to conductor to fellow performers, just as another member of the ensemble.

Mason Bates will be an important name in music history

[HolyKatana]

He's playing a MIDI controller, and most likely has Cubase or something running on the laptop with a synth plugin on. Believe it or not, it's very difficult to effectively program a synth. It's an extremely difficult instrument to master, simply because you need to be able to make your own sounds on it to be taken seriously, in addition to acquiring technique on the instrument.

[YourDreamTheater]

He was actually running DP. We had a long discussion about the pros and cons of each system (i'm the guy playing the bass drum and wood blocks)

mason is an awesome guy!

[FusionSummit]

@HolyKatana Doubt it... Cubase is a Windows native. Probably LogicPro or something of the equivalent.

[hcpf2009]

Using digital instruments alongside acoustic instruments is NOT an insult to the orchestra. With that said, there are better works that use electronics with an orchestra than this piece.

[YourDreamTheater]

hey guys!

thanks for allt he comments! this piece was so much fun to play and mason is the coolest guy in the world. show him love! i loved grooving with him during this concert.

elliott

youtube symphony -- percussion

[314piguy]

This was very good :-)

[musichick]

yea no. i hate that electronic sound in an orchestra its just no. it should stay out of orchestras. not everything should be modernized. that sound just makes the orchestra sound tacky.

[medic007]

Music yes, good music, not really. Though I am very curious about seeing more electronic influence in the orchestral domain.

[HolyKatana]

Check out Karlheinz Stockhausen and Terry Riley.

[DannyDaWriter]

Iannis Xenakis is also a very good composer of musique concrete — check out Mycenae Alpha and La Legende d'Eer

[NativeGER]

i didnt really get, what he did... :D

[Heriberto24]

there's nothing wrong with modernizing, thing's change and evolve. this just gives us more opportunity

[AfricanAnime]

It's still YTSO, and It's very well done.....

5 stars my MAN!

[0982955319]

Nothing

[samhickson]

that is not an instrument, it was kinda cool tho

[ReignOfPraine]

I think electronic intruments need to stay the fuck out of an orchestra. Stop trying to "modernize" the whole thing.

[Ajtrex95]

ikno idnt c y they like tht

[Joshlama]

So, you are saying electronic music should stay out of the orchestra because it would make it too modern. Yet, the tradition of orchestras has actually been based on using the technology of both the past and present.

Want to put this quote in: "It puts some musicians off, because they want to have things 'acoustic' or 'real'...But sometimes they miss the point. There is nothing traditional or natural about a trumpet [or any instrument]...it's a machine." James Morrison. Aussie Trumpet virtuoso.

[ReignOfPraine]

You see, as technology evolved, so did music. There IS a place for electronic instruments, and that is in electronic driven music. I will agree with you on the tradition of the orchestra as they DID use the technology of the past and present, but this was at the time when orchestral music was the main type of music played. We now play orchestral music in retrospect of peices created in those times and pay homage to that type and play in THAT vein. Electronic instruments do not belong here, sorry

[Joshlama]

I agree and disagree with you here. There are some great music that has been written in the last 100 years or so for the orchestra that are wonderful pieces that pay homage to the previous composers before them. the orchestra also keeps the tradition of playing the music of Mozart and Beethoven.

But at the same time, there are composers (not just Bates) who love to use the technology that we have today and push it in to 'art' music (search Matthew Hindson)

I respect your comment by the way.

[survivorjc]

I was there in carnegie that night, He is awesome!

[LackOfAWittyName]

awsomeee

[tmacc]

kool

[lionhatkids]

is it sad i watch all this shit just cuz it's the YOUTUBE orchestra

[ChaseWatkins]

yes, go find a local classical station

[jaksplitter]

No. Don't care about what other people think. If you like it, good for you. Enjoy and have fun...

[dhruvluke]

niceeee just mr bates had better not ever be called "master"

[OptimusSmyth]

Sweet! Sounds awesome!

[O0oSorousho0O]

Man I should b in this. I play 3 instruments

[JupiterAdept]

Quite kickass. Never heard of him, to be honest.

[seanbell]

Amazing!

[maplestoryJUiCAY]

first

[maplestoryJUiCAY]

first! and awsome =]

[genomeboy]

Good one.

[jerrylikevideos]

lol

[ludolxx94]

wow this is macbook pro