MONDAY BYTES — January 12, 2015
I spent part of my vacation binge-watching the series Mozart in the Jungle (if you have Amazon prime you can blast through all 10 episodes for free).
The series is based on oboist Blair Tindall’s 2006 tell-all memoir, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music. The book and series revolve around the misadventures in the profession for an up and coming oboist.
In terms of how this has been translated into a series, we might grumble at the inaccuracies in the portrayal of the working lives of professional orchestral and freelance players (and groan at the attempts to fake playing convincingly), but the series has some terrific story lines and it is absolutely binge-worthy. And thought-provoking.
There have been many movies made about musicians and composers but this is the first series I’ve ever seen that touches on such a range of real-life orchestral musician topics as the union, orchestra funding, board member clout, auditions, community engagement, succession of conductors, member morale, programming choices, performers’ career crises, performance injuries, drug use, and even how a new conductor needs to “win over” the band.
Maybe it’s simply a relief to have all these topics and story lines attempted so we can step back and take it in—get a fresh perspective on an “outsiders” view of the context many musicians work in or aspire to work in.
Amazon may not have gotten all of it right, but in terms of long-form narrative, and multi-dimensional characters and themes, there’s a lot that’s working well.
It’s also good to see these characters portrayed as people are driven in their higher pursuit—beyond fame, money. or position—to strive for artistry.
This week: As we start in on 2015, take a moment to look back at what you wrought in 2014: what you made, managed, initiated, facilitated, and championed—and congratulate yourself!
PS: Very curious what others are thinking about Mozart Jungled—would love to get your perspective!
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