# Mozart in the Jungle... a TV show about classical music



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I really want to see this:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-in-the-Jungle-HD/dp/B00I3MNGCG

Apparently it is based on a lurid memoir... talking about sex and drugs and classical music and orchestra members.

An orgy of sound I guess?

The pilot looks good but I can't download on iTunes. Have to watch it on Amazon?

Anyone here read the book? Seen the show yet?


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I haven't seen it but it looks like it could be a fun romp in the manner of _Amadeus_. If nothing else I hope it's a comeback for Malcolm McDowell, he did some great work in his early screen career then seemed to hit a terminal slump.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Crudblud said:


> I haven't seen it but it looks like it could be a fun romp in the manner of _Amadeus_. If nothing else I hope it's a comeback for Malcolm McDowell, he did some great work in his early screen career then seemed to hit a terminal slump.


I really enjoyed Malcolm McDowell in the movies If and Clockwork Orange.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Yeah. Those Salzburg jungles are known for their exotic wildlife.


----------



## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

I saw the pilot episode. Very raunchy. Great music. Had Joshua Bell on for a quick scene. Plot seemed stale. It was ok to watch for free, but I won't join Amazon Prime to watch it.


----------



## echmain (Jan 18, 2013)

I binge-watched the entire series when it was posted to Amazon and liked it lot.

The highlights are the naive, young oboist trying to get into the orchestra (presumably the author of the memoir) and the brash young conductor (who I thought was going to be a real jerk but is actually a cool guy and kind of goofy). Malcolm Macdowell is great as the retired conductor "emeritus".

Each episode is only 25 minutes, so the whole thing feels light. Quite funny at times but no heavy handed drama.

Oh, and lots and lots of classical music.

Looking forward to season 2, if there is one.


----------



## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

I thought it was disgusting and degrading. I won't be watching.


----------



## ScipioAfricanus (Jan 7, 2010)

definitely not watching it. like Mister Man said, its disgusting. its more about vices than music.


----------



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I have the book it's based upon. Way lots of sex and names.


----------



## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Negative opinion from me.


Oh no!, a new series spreading pseudointellectual b.u.l.l.s.h.i.t, it's Breaking Bad and Black Swan all over again. Look how all these people who work hard to refine their craft are either completely idiotic "nerds" or perverts that love to do drugs, fornicate and drink themselves to death but still have 'good intentions'.

I won't even mention what is being made of the music, which could have been subtituted with anything else. I can't stand all that american style stereotype orgy constantly rubbing it's **** paste all over our faces.


----------



## Giordano (Aug 10, 2014)

Hmm... I haven't watched it. I think I'll watch it as entertainment & time killer.

I really enjoyed the Japanese dorama series Nodame Cantabile のだめカンタービレ. If you are not familiar with Japanese anime and dramas, it may take a little getting used to.


----------



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Giordano said:


> Hmm... I haven't watched it. I think I'll watch it as entertainment & time killer.
> 
> I really enjoyed the Japanese dorama series Nodame Cantabile のだめカンタービレ. If you are not familiar with Japanese anime and dramas, it may take a little getting used to.


My girlfriend loves that show haha. I watched some of it and it was pretty enjoyable.


----------



## michaels (Oct 3, 2014)

I watched it... raunchy is definitely one of the primary descriptors and doesn't need to be IMHO (but I really don't care about seeing people naked, excessive parties, or drug binging), I actually enjoyed the portrayal of trying to make it in the arts however idealized and sensationalized.


----------



## Polyphemus (Nov 2, 2011)

Having seen the pilot show and from the comments above I will be looking at the members of the NSOI with jaundiced eye in future, sex, drugs and Mozart. Might be a giggle though.


----------



## blairtin (May 16, 2015)

Hello everyone, this is the author of MITJ. I appreciate all your comments and of course realize nothing is to everyone's taste. Also apologies for the zombie thread I just made.

The show was created by Jason Schwartzman, nephew of Francis Ford Coppola,who is closely related to notable musicians Carmine and Anton Coppola, the latter of whom contributed many stories to the show, as did I, as consultants. If Hollywood didn't apply a certain shorthand to advance the drama, any show would turn into a dreary documentary. 

Each actor playing a musician had a full-time, high-level, teacher/coach for months who was also on set. By the way, that employed tons of musicians, along with the musicians playing the score and those in the onscreen orchestra. I think we can all agree that string miming seems difficult. The other musicians did quite well, and the string-miming problems being addressed for season 2. I can't explain the conducting gap, as they both actually looked great in person. Maybe a time-delay, as we weren't actually playing (I was in episode 10).

Anyway, have some humor about this. It's brought classical music into pop culture. People are buying recordings and tickets. And classical musicians ARE real people who have sex, children, drink sometimes and even occasionally go grocery shopping. I know, it's shocking. We're in the public light, in a show made by very skilled people. Nothing is to be accomplished by trashing us except to turn people off of classical. Congrats.

Some of the comments here are bizarre. WIth one split-second frame that was actually a mistake, absolutely no nudity. Only allusions to sex, and I believe some adults do that, in our version of office sex. In my time in NYC, there were two prominent drug dealers who peddled only to other classical types; one in the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the other across from my conservatory.The actor playing that role is in reality one of the biggest contractors for Broadway orchestras and doesn't do drugs at all, but he sure saw it happen.

I love the show. It's done well, is respectful to us, and represents us accurately. If you're gonna get all upset over no music stands in the 1812 scene or dramatizing a quickie audition, be my guest. I'm laughing all the way to the bank, which few musicians can say.


----------



## blairtin (May 16, 2015)

Also, Amazon offers a 30-day trial membership at any time. ayou can watch if for free if interested.


----------



## michaels (Oct 3, 2014)

blairtin said:


> Hello everyone, this is the author of MITJ. I appreciate all your comments and of course realize nothing is to everyone's taste. Also apologies for the zombie thread I just made.
> ...
> I love the show. It's done well, is respectful to us, and represents us accurately. If you're gonna get all upset over no music stands in the 1812 scene or dramatizing a quickie audition, be my guest. I'm laughing all the way to the bank, which few musicians can say.


Great to see you chime in! I haven't read the book, but have seen the Amazon series. I absolutely enjoyed the series, and understand that part of what was done is to popularize the view of musicians who's primary interest is not making it big in pop music, I do wish it is something I could share with my 'tween daughters though, but understand the target audience isn't the crowd transitioning off of disney.

I also understand having someone criticize your work is immensely personal and often painful. I felt like I didn't do the show justice in my short comments, so I'll tell you what I liked about it:

The portrayal of the angst of finding your way in a career that is almost more like a collection of finding the best part time gigs
The frustration, fear and coping with injury/repetitive motion injuries
The relationships between patrons and professionals
The love of music
The importance of confidence and experience in performance


Drugs & sex I have seen in abundance in my 20s and they're frankly quite boring. The real issues that drive people to self-medicate with sex and drugs are much more interesting and the show does deal with some of that, definitely more then the typical show.

I knew Blake Snyder (screen writer's writer before he passed) and discussed many times the difficulties around the original story goodness destroyed by rewrites, etc., glad to hear things went so well for you!

As someone who reads more then they watch, what could or would you say to someone about how your book compares to the movie? Would it be something I would like to read? If so, why?

Enjoy your success and hopefully more to come from you and your screenwriters!


----------



## gHeadphone (Mar 30, 2015)

Ive bought the book and am really enjoying it so far!


----------



## michaels (Oct 3, 2014)

The amazon prime second season is out and available. Watched a few episodes and again, I enjoy it, but get distracted by the unneeded language. It doesn't need the sex & drugs to be fun and entertaining.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2015)

No, it needs the sex and drugs. Believe me.


----------



## gHeadphone (Mar 30, 2015)

No harm in a little sex and drugs occasionally, it's as much part of life as music.

Im raging, i still cant get it in Ireland. I did love the book though!


----------



## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

Got Amazon Prime for free for a month and binge-watched the first season. After the first episode, the raunchyness was really toned down. Worth seeing for free and fairly amusing. I did enjoy the First season. However, the previews of the second season look uninspired. I'm not going to pony up $99 for Prime.


----------



## PJaye (May 22, 2015)

I’d like to see the show. I read Mozart in the jungle a while back and enjoyed it so much. I think I finished it in a couple of days or so. I really felt like I got to know many of the people in it. I found the determination and stamina of some of them inspiring. The broad range of personalities in it has a lot of variety of perspective, and I also enjoyed the small details, like the authors continuing pursuit of making herself a great sounding reed.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2015)

Glad that this TV show exists. Anything that will make classical music seem youthful and sexy is good! 

Yes, the show is full of clichés, and many of the characters are just archetypes and not that believable (the eccentric conductor, the ****ty cellist, etc.), but so are most other TV shows. Plus, this is a short, light, humorous show. 

What I love about the show:

- Cameo appearances from real musicians (Season 2, episode 5 featured Joshua Bell, Lang Lang and Emanuel Ax!) 
- A somewhat true portrayal of the unique challenges faced by classical music institutions 
- The choice of music played. Yes, a lot of the classics most audiences will expect to hear (Beethoven's 5th, Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca, etc.) but also lots of new music, making me discovering pieces that I didn't know (Lalo's Cello Concerto!) 
- Great actors for the most part! 
- Showing people of all ages that are into classical music, and showing it can be cool and hip 

I could only find the first four episodes of the second season, as it just came out!


----------



## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Mozart in the Jungle!

I absolutely loved the first season and hope to binge watch the new season over the upcoming New Year weekend.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised at some of the descriptions of the show. If I recall, the tag line to the show is something like 'Sex. Drugs. Classical.' So I think it would have been safe to assume some sex and drugs, but I never felt that it was over the top. 

Compared to recent critically acclaimed shows, The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, True Blood, and on and on and on, MitJ is downright innocent and light-hearted.

My two cents.

cheers.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

In the new season, in Episode 1 notice the guy backstage at the LA Phil wearing headphones. He says to Rodrigo (who is there to guest conduct), "Maestro, you have to save our orchestra. We hate the conductor!"

You may recognize this guy -- kind of short and stocky, with an accent and a big head of curly hair...


----------



## michaels (Oct 3, 2014)

DoReFaMi said:


> What I love about the show:
> 
> - Cameo appearances from real musicians (Season 2, episode 5 featured Joshua Bell, Lang Lang and Emanuel Ax!)


You missed Dudamel in the first episode! Great irony in the cameos too.


----------



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Just want to say CONGRATS to Mozart in the Jungle for winning 2 Golden Globe awards for its second season last night:
*Best television series, musical or comedy
Best performance by an actor in a television series, musical or comedy - Gael Garcia Bernal*
:tiphat:


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes, two very well-deserved Golden Globes! But now we have to wait a year for the next set of episodes. I mean, is that really fair???


----------



## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

blairtin said:


> Hello everyone, this is the author of MITJ. I appreciate all your comments and of course realize nothing is to everyone's taste. Also apologies for the zombie thread I just made.
> 
> The show was created by Jason Schwartzman, nephew of Francis Ford Coppola,who is closely related to notable musicians Carmine and Anton Coppola, the latter of whom contributed many stories to the show, as did I, as consultants. If Hollywood didn't apply a certain shorthand to advance the drama, any show would turn into a dreary documentary.
> 
> ...


I bought and read your book soon after it came out. It was fascinating, and a bit of an eye-opener, though not too much - most industries have their version of these challenges, tensions, personal politics etc. I was very glad to help you to the bank, possibly a quarter of a step all by myself. 
I've just watched season 1, nd enjoyed it greatly without taking it too seriously. I don't recall that it has too much in common with the book - the zeitgeist maybe? I'd be interested in how closely you think it matches - they've drawn on some anecdotes and caught the spirit reasonably well, it seems.


----------



## newyorkconversation (Dec 6, 2017)

Rebooting this thread to say that binge-watching the first three seasons of MITJ on Amazon Prime is quite enjoyable. It's a high-quality tv show which happens to be about classical music - but that means it has extra fun bits for classical aficionados (at least for this one).

Season 4 comes out in February 2018!


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Never seen it, probably never will.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I've been following MITJ, very good quality stuff. The music-related content is quite accurate and realistic, some stuff obviously based on actual recent events and some wholly invented.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I watched the first few episodes, and thought that it was a cliche-ridden insult to my intelligence.


----------



## T Son of Ander (Aug 25, 2015)

I think that part of the problem is when people really like a certain thing (in this case CM), and a show is made about that thing, they pick it apart and criticise it to death, instead of just enjoying it. I totally admit, I can fall into that, as well. With this show, though, I watch it as if it were just a show that happens to be about musicians and has great music. Obviously, it's comedic and over the top at times, but I find it to be really enjoyable. I really like the cast, especially McDowell and Bernadette Peters. Can't wait for the next season!


----------



## karlsoren (Dec 19, 2017)

I thought the first year was great--relaxed, a lot of fun. finally, a show in which everyone is more or less a decent person instead of the endlessly horrible characters on other shows. 
By the second season they were really struggling, and eventually, i lost interest. But the first year was just great.


----------



## chesapeake bay (Aug 3, 2015)

anyone who watched season 4 that could name the Gesualdo piece played in episode 4? Amazon lists it as Che fai meco mio cor from Madrigals bk 4 but that isnt it.


----------



## BiscuityBoyle (Feb 5, 2018)

I suspect that it's not entirely divorced from certain realities of the classical music world in NYC - but it's also corny af


----------



## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

I love it. I play with _the blood_.


----------



## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

I, too, think it's pretty tacky - though by no means the tackiest trash you can find on the artistic toilet we call "premium television." Women seem to enjoy though and I'd rather watch this than This Is Us or some of the other shows I've been subjected to in carrying the heavy burden of being a young bachelor.


----------

