LAURI PORRA
Finnish composer enlists Stephen Fry for a symphonic love letter to the universe.
THE TAPESTRY OF Lauri Porra’s musical identity has been sewn together by myriad threads. A fourth-generation musician raised in a classical household in Helsinki (he’s a direct descendant of composer Sibelius), he went in search of new musical horizons in his teens. Since then, he’s spent over two decades immersed in a dizzying variety of projects.
“I stopped going to my cello lessons and bought an electric bass, more out of curiosity than rebellion,” he says.“At one point, I was playing in 25 bands, playing bluegrass, Argentinean tango, hip hop, electronic, metal. I just wanted to play and discover how these different styles worked.”