This was published 9 years ago
Sex, Drugs and Classical Music could be the new addiction
By Pip Cummings
Early in the first episode of Mozart in the Jungle, worldly cellist Cynthia (played by Saffron Burrows) expounds on her philosophy that, in her experience, men have sex according to what they do for a living. "Percussionists pound you like you're in a porno," she says, also explaining that violinists are built for speed ("all those arpeggios") and jazz pianists "don't mind an ensemble".
Mozart is a behind-the-scenes look at the fictional New York Symphony – drawing back the curtain to expose just how gritty and conflicted the rarified world of classical musicianship can be. "Everyone in this world has chosen this somewhat eccentric life, and is in a love-hate relationship with their instrument," says director Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie), who serves as executive producer along with co-creators Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman.
Passionate new conductor Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal) is in a crisis of trying to make whatever he does relevant and transcendent.
Loosely based on Blair Tindall's memoir of the same name (subtitle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music), Mozart focuses on young oboist Hailey (Lola Kirke) who is trying to navigate the egos and politics of a world-renowned orchestra, as well as the vicissitudes of its passionate new conductor Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal). "Rodrigo is in this crisis of trying to make whatever he does relevant and transcendent, at the same time as he represents this kind of fun, egotistical Freddie Mercury kind of character," Bernal says. "But that kind of massiveness makes him very vulnerable in many ways."
Caught in the crosshairs of Rodrigo's plans for revitalisation are the reluctantly retiring conductor Thomas (Malcolm McDowell) and the Symphony's chairwoman Gloria (Bernadette Peters). Rodrigo is determined to challenge the players, the donors and the audience, and is not above a bit of hipster spin, like turning off the house lights to hear selected pieces in complete darkness. "What next?" Thomas explodes. "Bring a pet to the Symphony day?"
A meeting with a well-regarded conductor – "who shall remain nameless" – convinced Schwartzman and Coppola theirs was an important story to tell. "New York City hasn't been a capital for classical music in 30 years," the conductor told them. "You can't revive it, it's over. There's too many old people who won't let it progress."
The delivery of that piece of real-life "bad news" suddenly made Rodrigo's mission seem truly epic. "I feel a closeness to that character," says Bernal. "I don't know if I'd like to be him – it would be a very tormented mindset and a very lonely one as well. The classical music world is a difficult one, where you wonder if it's worth it all the time."
Rodrigo finds solace in the company of Hailey, who is hired as his assistant (and may become his love interest). "Lola is a newcomer but Gael's character identifies more with her coming in, because he's this outsider in the city and doesn't really identify with or care for the [elite world] of the Symphony," says Weitz.
Kirke, although not currently known as well as her older sister – Girls star Jemima – has earned high praise from her seasoned cast mates and series creators. "She is so winning and smart and sharp," says Weitz. "She's really the soul of the show – we see through her eyes."
"Lola keeps a level of excellence, even when it's tiny, little connective scenes that are like the tissue of the piece," says Burrows. "It's so detailed and really moving. I'm often moved to tears because I'm not expecting it. And she's full of humanity. She knows her comic timing. It's not something most people have, and so young."
Burrows' off-screen support echoes the relationship the pair have on camera – "without jealousy or conflict," observes Weitz. In fact, the sympathetic roles for women are notable. "To have a woman in her early 40s, who's had an interesting life already – that's not often written for women," says Burrows. "That much history, life experience or just complication. It's lovely to play."
Kirke feels the same way: "Hailey is not your typical ingenue - she's not just this damsel in distress waiting for someone to marry her. She's an expert and knows something few others do, very, very well. There's something offbeat about her."
In an effort to appear convincing, the stars trained with professional musicians, studying their movements. Kirke jokes that the coaches were like "spirit animals", shadowing the actors on set to offer support. "Or else to say 'Put your pinkies down, you moron," says Kirke, laughing.
Bernal says he prepared by watching various maestros on YouTube, including Vittorio Monti, Richard Strauss, Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan. He also took "quite a lot" of inspiration from Gustavo Dudamel of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; a 33-year-old, big-haired force of nature, worth looking up just to revel in the liberties taken with the fictional Rodrigo.
The whimsical tone of the series owes something to filmmaker Wes Anderson; a long-time collaborator of both Schwartzman and Coppola (cousins, incidentally, whose grandfather Carmine was a flautist and great uncle Anton is a conductor.) Coppola also cites the influence of 1960s European cinema, and Weitz credits 1930s screwball comedy for the show's pace and the decision to populate it with "a lot of vibrant, main characters".
To viewers wondering if the elite classical music world might be a little inaccessible, consider addictive series Breaking Bad, says Kirke: you probably never thought you'd watch five seasons of a show about illegal methamphetamine manufacture. "You would have thought that's a hard world to get into, but we're identifying with those people and their desires and their drives," she says. "That's storytelling. If people can connect to it, or laugh - or start playing the oboe - we've done our jobs."
Mozart In The Jungle is on Stan.